Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Thomasville Municipal A/P Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Thomasville, Georgia 31792
Monday, August 10, 1998 16:40 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he was 2.5 hours into a 4 hour flight when he felt an urgent need to relieve himself. The pilot stated he decided to land on a road in a cultivated field. The pilot stated after landing, he noticed a post on the left side of the road and maneuvered to miss the post. During this maneuver, the airplane became airborne, and when it touched down a second time, the landing gear collapsed. According to the FAA inspector, the pilot stated he had to relieve himself, so he decided to land on an access road because he didn't see the airport. The pilot then stated that he didn't have enough clearance on the road, and decided to land in the field. The FAA inspector also stated the field was approximately 1 to 2 miles south of Thomasville Municipal Airport. According to the FAA, the airplane touched down on the edge of the field, crossed the access road, and came to rest in another field. When crossing the road, the right main landing gear was sheared off. As the airplane continued to roll, the lower third of the rudder and two fuselage longerons were bent.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's poor in-flight decision to attempt a forced landing in a field 2 miles from an airport, leading to an on-ground collision with rough terrain. A factor was the pilot's physiological need.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/10/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1640 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | THOMASVILLE |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 31792 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | THOMASVILLE MUNICIPAL A/P |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TVI |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 264 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1552 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TLH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 81 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 30 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 33 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2300 |
| 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) | 660 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 11 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1700 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2000 11:41AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N96175 |
| NTSB Number | ATL98LA110 |
| 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 | Taylorcraft |
| Aircraft Model | BC12-D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | BC12-D |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 8475 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1200 |
| 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 | Aug 4 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 1686 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | JAN SPANGLER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 174 S. RIDGEWOOD AVENUE |
| Aircraft Owner City | ORMOND BEACH |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 32174 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | OMN |
| Departure City | ORMOND BEACH |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1410 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PIB |
| Destination City | HATTIESBURG |
| Destination State | MS |
| 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 | 14 |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |