Tradewind Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Amarillo, Texas 79118
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 16:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 30-hour student pilot was landing on runway 17 following his first cross-country flight, and applied right rudder pressure to compensate for the prevailing crosswind conditions. After touchdown, the pilot "failed to release the right rudder," and the airplane veered to the right side of the runway. Also, the pilot "overcompensated" with left rudder, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. The airplane struck two fences before becoming to a stop. The pilot reported that the winds at the time of the accident were from 150 degrees at 8 to 9 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind condition. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of aircraft, and the crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/5/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Amarillo
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79118
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 351012N
Event Location Longitude 1014933W
Event Location Airport Tradewind Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TDW
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 3649
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID TDW
Elevation of weather observation facility 3649
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
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) 15165
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO Lubbock
NTSB Notification Date Nov 6 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1330
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2004 8:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Lubbock, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5203W
NTSB Number FTW04LA018
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-160
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-238
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 Mar 15 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 18
Airframe Hours 3344
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James K. Ingram
Aircraft Owner Street Address 89 N. Avondale St.
Aircraft Owner City Amarillo
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79106
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 TDW
Departure City Amarillo
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
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 - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2004 1:22PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 5099
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --