Boerne Stage Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boerne, Texas 78006
Saturday, October 25, 1997 10:21 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a landing on runway 17, the Cessna 177 airplane touched down, bounced, and began to porpoise. The private pilot aborted the landing by adding power and raising the flaps from 40 to 10 degrees. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, crossed a grassy area and the parallel taxiway, became airborne, and collided with a parked front end loader. The airplane then impacted the ground and was destroyed by a postcrash fire. The pilot had less than 1 hour of flight time in the Cessna 177. Review of weather data indicated that during the time period of the accident flight, winds in the area were gradually changing from a southwesterly to a northwesterly direction, resulting in an increasing right crosswind component for landing on runway 17. At the time of the accident, winds were likely from the west at 10 to 15 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the aborted landing. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a porpoise; his lack of total experience in the Cessna 177; and the crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/25/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1021
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BOERNE
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78006
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport BOERNE STAGE FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 5C1
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 1380
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 1200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 312
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 25 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1325
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:37PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2971X
NTSB Number FTW98LA032
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 177
Aircraft Series Identifier 177
Aircraft Serial Number 17700371
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
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 May 1 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 69
Airframe Hours 3630
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FRANCIS H. WRIGHT JR MD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 142 KENNEDY AVE
Aircraft Owner City SAN ANTONIO
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78209
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name HERBERT B. YOUNG
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 707 VALLEY OAK DR
Operator City BANDERA
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 78003
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 5C1
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 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 17
Runway Length 3400
Runway Width 36
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --