Cape May County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wildwood, New Jersey 08242
Friday, September 28, 2001 12:08 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that on short final to runway 28, the airplane was struck by a gust of wind and the airplane dropped to the ground and ground looped. The airport AWOS recorded winds from 320 degrees at 8 knots with gusts to 15 knots before the accident, and a few minutes after the accident, the winds were from 310 degrees at 12 knots with gusts to 15 knots. The pilot estimated the winds were from 270 degrees at 10 knots with gusts to 15 knots. The pilot also stated that the accident could have been prevented, "...by coming in with more airspeed, possibly."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. Factors were the crosswind and the gusts.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1208
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Wildwood
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 08242
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 390017N
Event Location Longitude 0745408W
Event Location Airport Cape May County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WWD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 23
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1055 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID WWD
Elevation of weather observation facility 23
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) -163
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13098
NTSB Notification Source FAA Philadelphia, PA FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Oct 1 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1507
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 1 2003 7:34AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3465D
NTSB Number NYC01LA227
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 27008
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Aug 8 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 3998
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Marnie Fehrle
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cape May
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 08204
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code WWD
Departure City Wildwood
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 945
Departure Time Zone TL
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code WWD
Destination City Wildwood
Destination State NJ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 10 2002 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28
Runway Length 4998
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --