Shenandoah Valley Rgnl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486
Sunday, March 22, 1998 10:50 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, flight conditions were gusty with winds from the northwest. He said he flew a final approach to a runway 23 and applied right crosswind corrections on final approach. After landing, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway, went up a small hill, hit a fence, and flipped over. The Automatic Weather Observation System reported the surface winds were from 310 degrees at 6 knots with no gusts at the approximate time of the accident; however, it had consistently reported gusts throughout the day of 17 to 22 knots, ending about 30 minutes before the accident and commencing again 10 minutes after the accident. The pilot received his Private Pilot certification 18 days prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate compensation for crosswind conditions and failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in an encounter with a fence on uneven terrain and a nose over.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/22/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1050
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City WEYERS CAVE
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 24486
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SHENANDOAH VALLEY RGNL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SHD
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 1201
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1041 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SHD
Elevation of weather observation facility 1201
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3800
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 5
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 200
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 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 93
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 23 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 547
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 10:57AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80512
NTSB Number NYC98LA081
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 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier 172M
Aircraft Serial Number 17266630
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Feb 19 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 28
Airframe Hours 8371
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name 512 FLYERS LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address C/O KEN TAYLOR, RT 5, BOX 77
Aircraft Owner City ELKTON
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 22827
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SHENANDOAH FLIGHT SERVICES
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 51 AVIATION CIRLCE, SUITE 110
Operator City WEYERS CAVE
Operator State VA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 24486
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 SHD
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1047
Departure Time Zone EST
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 23
Runway Length 6002
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --