West Texas Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

El Paso, Texas 79912
Saturday, August 10, 2002 10:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was performing of a series of stop and go landings to meet the insurance requirements for towing gliders in the airplane. During the second approach, the pilot was correcting for the crosswind, the airplane bounced onto the runway, veered to the right side of the runway, exited the runway, and came to rest on a sand dune. The wind was from the south-southeast approximately 7-10 knots. The accident flight was the pilot's first flight in the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, and his failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors were the cross wind, and the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of the accident airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/10/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City El Paso
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79912
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 314311N
Event Location Longitude 1061422W
Event Location Airport West Texas Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID T27
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 4000
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 225
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 10
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13684
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 16 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 23 2003 8:35AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albuquerque, New Mexico

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7718V
NTSB Number FTW02LA236
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 Aero Commander
Aircraft Model Callair A-9B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1470
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 8 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 1621
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name El Paso Soaring Society
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6330 N Mesa, Suite G El Paso CNTY
Aircraft Owner City El Paso
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79912
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code T27
Departure City El Paso
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 945
Departure Time Zone MDT
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 Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2003 11:15AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 08
Runway Length 7000
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --