Clearwater Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clearwater, Florida 34625
Wednesday, July 2, 1997 8:35 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot stated he encountered some turbulence about 5 feet above the runway which caused the airplane to yaw to the left just before touchdown. The airplane touched down hard on the right main landing gear and bounced. The pilot decided to abort the landing and go around. He applied full throttle, but the engine did not respond immediately. The carburetor heat was not turned off. During the go-around, the pilot raised the flaps to 10-degrees, and the airplane settled to the ground in a crab. Subsdequently, it yawed to the left, the left wing tip collided with trees, and the airplane went off the left side of the runway into a ditch. Review of weather information for the time of the accident revealed no record of turbulence, downdrafts, gusts, or windshear.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the student pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during an attempted go-around, which resulted in an on-ground loss of control and subsequent collision with trees and a ditch. The crosswind, trees, and ditch were related factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/2/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 835
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City CLEARWATER
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34625
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CLEARWATER AIR PARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CLW
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 76
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 750 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID CLW
Elevation of weather observation facility 76
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2700
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 259
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 2 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1230
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8083S
NTSB Number MIA97LA200
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 150F
Aircraft Series Identifier 150F
Aircraft Serial Number 15061683
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 7 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 92
Airframe Hours 2964
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WEST FLORIDA AIR INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1000 NORTH HERCULES AVE
Aircraft Owner City CLEARWATER
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34625
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code CLW
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 820
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
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 33
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --