Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Beckley, West Virginia 25801
Tuesady, July 2, 1996 12:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that en route to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina he encountered severe rain and thunderstorms near Beckley, West Virginia. He said that the weather was so severe that he could not continue on to Beckley where he intended to land and wait out the storm. The pilot said that he spotted a hay field and made a precautionary landing. During the landing the aircraft struck a tree with the left wing and nosed into the ground causing substantial damage to the aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilots decision to continue flying from VFR to IMC conditions which subsequently forced him to make a precautionary landing onto unsuitable terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/2/1996
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City BECKLEY
Event State WEST VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 25801
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2500
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1224 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KBK
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 3530
Intensity of Precipitation Heavy
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1966
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:12AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8099A
NTSB Number IAD96LA106
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier 170B
Aircraft Serial Number 20951
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 4 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 53
Airframe Hours 4090
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAM E. RASOR
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10275 PLEASANT PLANE ROAD
Aircraft Owner City BROOKVILLE
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45309
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code GAS
Departure City GALLIPOLIS
Departure State OH
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FFA
Destination City KILL DEVIL HILL
Destination State NC
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --