Orange County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Montgomery, New York 12549
Wednesday, August 11, 1999 14:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was on his first solo flight. He reported he touched down on the right main wheel first and the airplane pivoted rapidly to the right. When he regained directional control, the airplane was pointed toward a runway sign. He then elected to turn further right to avoid the sign. The runway sign struck the left horizontal stabilizer, and in addition, the rear empenage was damaged. This was the first student pilot the flight instructor had soloed. The winds were calm, and the student pilot's total flight experience was 21.4 hours.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the failure of the student pilot to maintain directional control during the touchdown and landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/11/1999
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City MONTGOMERY
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12549
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MGJ
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 365
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1354 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID MGJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 365
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
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) 963
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 12 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 940
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:51AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N65742
NTSB Number NYC99LA196
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 172P
Aircraft Series Identifier 172P
Aircraft Serial Number 17275847
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Jul 22 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 59
Airframe Hours 7492
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name D J AVIATION INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 878 WALLKILL AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City WALLKILL
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 12589
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JOHN ZWICK
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 550 DUNN LANE
Operator City MONTGOMERY
Operator State NY
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 12549
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 MGJ
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1330
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 3
Runway Length 5006
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --