Habersham County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cornelia, Georgia 30531
Sunday, March 5, 2000 11:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he did not obtain much altitude and speed for the short flight. He also reported that the landing gear was not needed to slow the airplane down and was not extended on approach. The pilot reported that he forgot to extend the landing gear before landing, and he did not recall hearing the landing gear warning horn after the throttle was retarded. He also stated that after he exited the airplane and was about 50 feet away, the airplane burst into flames. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or component failures with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to use the checklist, resulting in a wheels-up landing and post-crash fire.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/5/2000
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1145
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City CORNELIA
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 30531
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HABERSHAM COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AJR
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 1447
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 221
Weather Observation Facility ID ATL
Elevation of weather observation facility 1026
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 77
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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) 13877
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 5 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1345
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8865R
NTSB Number ATL00LA032
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 Unknown
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bellanca
Aircraft Model 260 B
Aircraft Series Identifier 260 B
Aircraft Serial Number 4227
Certified Max Gross Weight 2700
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 75
Airframe Hours 3800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ACE AUTO INSURANCE
Aircraft Owner Street Address POB 87455
Aircraft Owner City COLLEGE PARK
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30337
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name PAUL L. DORN JR.
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 47A
Departure City CANTON
Departure State GA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
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 24
Runway Length 4200
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --