Greenwood Lake Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Greenwood Lake, New Jersey 07480
Friday, July 5, 1996 13:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot flew to Greenwood Lake Airport for the purpose of practicing landings. According to the student, 'I overflew (the airport) at 2500 feet to study the windsock. The wind appeared to be coming from the west, this favored runway 24. I turned around, descended to 1800 feet, and entered a left downwind pattern for (the runway). On the final approach ... everything appeared normal. There was a slight wind from the 2:00 position, which I corrected using a little right aileron, and left rudder. I was using full flaps (30 degrees), and the power was at idle. I started my flare about 1\3 of the way down the runway, my speed was about 60 knots. When I was about halfway through the flare (about 5 to 10 ft. above the runway), the right wing suddenly dropped. I think the right wing tip may have struck the ground. I added full throttle and left aileron. The plane continued to bank to the right, and climbed a few feet. The plane turned for approximately 180 degrees. I was able to level the wings at this point, but then the nose of the plane dropped, and struck the ground at about a 45 degree angle and slightly banked to the left.' The airplane came to rest about 50 feet from the runway. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, during the approach/go-around, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and collision with the terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City GREENWOOD LAKE
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07480
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 GREENWOOD LAKE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4N1
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 791
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
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 --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 563
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 7 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 859
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:13AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6137H
NTSB Number NYC96LA142
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 152
Aircraft Series Identifier 152
Aircraft Serial Number 15284135
Certified Max Gross Weight 1675
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FRANK R. GALELLA
Aircraft Owner Street Address 16 COMMERCE STREET
Aircraft Owner City GARFIELD
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07026
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code N07
Departure City LINCOLN PARK
Departure State NJ
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 4N1
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Go-around (VFR)
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 24
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --