Lawrence Smith Memorial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Harrisonville, Missouri 64701
Saturday, May 1, 2004 9:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged when it departed runway 35 during landing, encountered a ditch adjacent to the runway and nosed over. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and dual student were practicing takeoffs and landings during the local instructional flight. The CFI stated that he requested the student to hold the aircraft in the landing flare "longer so that he could get a proper feel and visual picture." During the flare the aircraft began to drift to the right. He requested that the student correct back toward the centerline, at which point the student banked to the left and applied left rudder. The CFI stated "My flight controls" to the student and applied right rudder. However, the student apparently did not hear him because the student maintained left rudder input, overpowering the CFI. The CFI recalled that the aircraft contacted the runway with the left main wheel and "veered" to the left. The aircraft departed the runway pavement, struck a ditch adjacent to the runway and nosed over. The student stated that the CFI was "always good about saying 'My flight controls' and likely stated this. However, I believe I . . . did not relinquish [the] controls to [the] instructor." He recalled: "I applied rudder(s), I applied brake and I recall my hand(s) on [the] yoke towards impact point." He commented that he was "much bigger" than the CFI. The CFI reported that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the aircraft prior to the accident. Wind conditions recorded at the airport about ten minutes prior to the accident were from 350 degrees at 6 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The dual student's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing flare. Contributing factors were the dual student's failure to relinquish the controls to the flight instructor, the resulting inability of the flight instructor to implement any remedial action, and the ditch.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/1/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 945
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Harrisonville
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64701
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 383640N
Event Location Longitude 0942032W
Event Location Airport LAWRENCE SMITH MEMORIAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LRY
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 915
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 955 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LRY
Elevation of weather observation facility 915
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 10000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
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) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15847
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 1 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1055
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Kansas City FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7448G
NTSB Number CHI04CA113
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 172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17259148
Certified Max Gross Weight 2299
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 23 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 16.2
Airframe Hours 5382.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name T&C Aviation Enterprises Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 12901 W 151st Street
Aircraft Owner City Olathe
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 66062
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name T&C Aviation Enterprises Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 12901 W 151st Street
Operator City Olathe
Operator State KS
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 66062
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LRY
Departure City Harrisonville
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code LRY
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 19 2004 2:32PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --