- Date
- August 26, 2004, 13:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Richland, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6141GCessna 150K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040826019459A
- Case key
- 60032
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing. Wind gusts, inadequate compensation for wind conditions, and an airport marker sign were factors.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The student pilot reported that he had completed practicing maneuvers in the practice area and was returning to the airport for a full stop landing. The student stated that he set-up for a soft field landing to runway 19. During the flare and about two to three feet above the runway, a gust of wind caught the airplane which yawed it to the right approximately 45 to 60 degrees. The airplane then touched down and started "skipping" as it traveled down the runway. The student pilot stated that, "I had not reacted to correct for the exaggerated yaw which is how the airplane probably bounced as it did." The right wingtip then contacted the surface and the pilot applied "a little power for the throttle and tried to gain some altitude." The pilot then heard the tail tie-down ring scrape the runway. The airplane continued to the right and the left horizontal stabilizer collided with a runway marker sign. The aircraft rolled about 100 feet before the student was able to stop the aircraft in the dirt off the right side of the runway.
Factual narrative
On August 26, 2004, about 1300 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150K, N6141G, registered to and operated by Szen Air LLC, as a 14 CFR Part 91 solo instructional flight, collided with an airport sign during landing at Richland Airport, Richland, Washington. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from Richland about 30 minutes prior to the accident.
During a telephone interview and subsequent written statement, the student pilot reported that he had completed practicing maneuvers in the practice area and was returning to the airport for a full stop landing. The student stated that he set-up for a soft field landing to runway 19. During the flare and about two to three feet above the runway, a gust of wind caught the airplane which yawed it to the right approximately 45 to 60 degrees. The airplane then touched down and started "skipping" as it traveled down the runway. The student pilot stated that, "I had not reacted to correct for the exaggerated yaw which is how the airplane probably bounced as it did." The right wingtip then contacted the surface and the pilot applied "a little power for the throttle and tried to gain some altitude." The pilot then heard the tail tie-down ring scrape the runway. The airplane continued to the right and the left horizontal stabilizer collided with a runway marker sign. The aircraft rolled about 100 feet before the student was able to stop the aircraft in the dirt off the right side of the runway.
At 1253, the Pasco Tri-Cities Airport, Pasco, Washington, located eight nautical miles east of Richland, reported the winds from 310 degrees at seven knots. The sky was clear with a temperature of 77 degrees F.
The student pilot reported the weather conditions at Richland as the wind from 200 degrees at 8 to 10 knots with gusts of 11 to 15 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6141G
- Reported as
- Cessna 150K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15071641
- Airframe hours
- 4,150
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Szen Air LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 15, 2004 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- RLD · Richland, WA
- Airport
- RLD · Richland, runway 19, 4,009 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 132 total · 132 in this make and model · 33 as pilot in command · 48 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- PSC, 8 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.