Waterville Lafleur Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Waterville, Maine 04901
Tuesady, October 22, 2002 12:52 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that after landing, a gust of wind caught the tail of the airplane from the left. The pilot applied the brakes, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot also reported that he was operating in the traffic pattern with other airplanes, based on ASOS information of winds about 70 degrees from the left, at 7 to 10 miles per hour. Winds recorded 3 minutes after the accident were 130 degrees from the left, at 6, gusting to 15 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's excessive braking during the landing roll, which resulted in a nose over. A factor was the quartering tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/22/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1252
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Waterville
Event State MAINE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 04901
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 443159N
Event Location Longitude 0694031W
Event Location Airport Waterville Lafleur Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WVL
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 333
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1255 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID WVL
Elevation of weather observation facility 333
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) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
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) 16530
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 23 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 Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland, Maine

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7321H
NTSB Number IAD03LA009
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 185
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18503361
Certified Max Gross Weight 3350
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 May 7 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 2078
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Fletcher Lavergne
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City New Vineyard
Aircraft Owner State ME
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 04956
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 WVL
Departure City Waterville
Departure State ME
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1215
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code WVL
Destination City Waterville
Destination State ME
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2004 10:37AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 05
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --