Naked Lady Ranch (Pvt) Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Stuart, Florida 34994
Tuesady, December 31, 2002 11:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot conducted a visual approach to runway 18. The flight instructor stated a wind shear or gust condition was encountered about 25 feet above the ground over the runway, and the airplane rapidly lost airspeed and sank suddenly. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and added full power. The airplane continued to sink, and the flight instructor stated the left wing was pushed down. The airplane banked left and struck trees about 10 to 20 feet off the side of the runway. The flight instructor reported no mechanical malfunction or failure.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inflight encounter with wind shear on final approach, which resulted in an inflight loss of control and subequent uncontrolled descent into trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/31/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Stuart
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34994
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 271412N
Event Location Longitude 0803342W
Event Location Airport Naked Lady Ranch (PVT)
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 64FA
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 20
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1548 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 75
Weather Observation Facility ID SUA
Elevation of weather observation facility 18
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 29
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) 1152
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14814
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Dec 31 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 8:07AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA Ft Lauderdale FSDO - 17

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5338R
NTSB Number ATL03LA028
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 172F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17252865
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Nov 17 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 5200
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aero Trade, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 900 Cantle Lane
Aircraft Owner City Great Falls
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32066
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Christopher S. Flom
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? --
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 No
Departure Airport Code DAB
Departure City Daytona Beach
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 830
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 64X
Destination City Stuart
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 7 2003 8:53AM
User who most recently changed record POWP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 3300
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --