Kutztown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530
Sunday, September 28, 1997 13:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot radioed his intention to land on runway 35 over the UNICOM frequency, and was advised by another pilot that runway 10 was in use. The student then landed on runway 28. During the landing roll, the airplane veered right, departed the right side of the runway, and traveled into a cornfield. The student reported he had 84 hours of total flight experience, all in make and model, of which 20.5 hours were solo time. At an airport about 11 miles southwest of the accident site, the wind was resorted to be from 100 degrees at 10 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve. Factors relating to the accident were: the student's pilot's selection of the wrong runway, the resultant tailwind, and the encounter with a cornfield beside the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/1997
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1330
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City KUTZTOWN
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 19530
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport KUTZTOWN
Event Location Nearest Airport ID N31
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 512
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1245 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 240
Weather Observation Facility ID RDG
Elevation of weather observation facility 344
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
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) 1304
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 28 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:34PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5338E
NTSB Number NYC97LA189
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 172
Aircraft Series Identifier 172
Aircraft Serial Number 17271838
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Aug 13 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 60
Airframe Hours 7275
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name READING FLITE ACADEMY
Aircraft Owner Street Address RR 9 BOX 9018
Aircraft Owner City READING
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19605
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 9D4
Departure City MYERSTOWN
Departure State PA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code N31
Destination City
Destination State PA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
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 28
Runway Length 2260
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --