St. Clair County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pell City, Alabama 35209
Saturday, November 2, 2002 15:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he flared a little high on his landing attempt, and, "The minute the plane hit the ground, it shot off to the left". Despite his using right rudder to retain control, the airplane exited the runway off the left edge, into the grass, and encountered a ditch. The landing gear were sheared off, and the airplane sustained a propeller strike. The FAA inspector stated that postcrash investigation of the accident revealed no malfunctions with any airplane components or systems. Reported winds in the area were from 30 degrees left of runway heading at 6 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control following landing touchdown, resulting in a runway excursion and collision with a ditch off the left side of the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/2/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Pell City
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 35209
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 333353N
Event Location Longitude 0861456W
Event Location Airport St. Clair County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PLR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 487
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID BHM
Elevation of weather observation facility 644
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 14000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
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) 12832
NTSB Notification Source BHM FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Nov 2 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 1 2003 4:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9558E
NTSB Number MIA03LA010
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 Bellanca
Aircraft Model 17-30A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 76-30798
Certified Max Gross Weight 3325
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 Apr 11 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 18
Airframe Hours 2276.61
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Burrus and Associates, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 500 Robert Jemison Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Birmingham
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 35209
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 PLR
Departure City Pell City
Departure State AL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone CST
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 - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2002 2:13PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 02
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 80
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --