Polson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Polson, Montana 59860
Sunday, May 16, 2004 9:45 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On the day of the accident, the pilot was performing a series of touch-and-go landings in variable gusty wind conditions in order to "...maintain proficiency on a gusty day." After three successful touch-and-go landings, he pilot decided to make the next landing a full-stop termination of the flight. During the subject landing, the wind shifted from a quartering headwind to a quartering tailwind, and although the touchdown was uneventful, during the landing roll the aircraft suddenly started turning toward the side of the runway. Although the pilot applied control inputs in an attempt to keep the aircraft on the runway, his inputs were not adequate to overcome the effects of the varying wind conditions, and therefore the aircraft departed the side of the runway. The pilot then added full power in order to regain control and execute a go-around. During that sequence of events, the aircraft's left wing contacted the ground and the left horizontal stabilizer impacted a runway marker. The pilot was then able to complete the go-around, whereupon he flew a normal traffic pattern and retuned for a subsequent full-stop landing. He discovered the damage to the airframe after taxiing to his hanger and shutting the aircraft down. There was no evidence of any anomaly in the flight control or wheel brake systems.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the changing wind conditions at the time of the landing. Factors include gusty, variable, crosswinds, and a runway marker near the edge of the runway the pilot was landing on.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/16/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 945
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Polson
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59860
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 474143N
Event Location Longitude 1141109W
Event Location Airport Polson Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 8S1
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 2940
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1800
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) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 10
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
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) 16202
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communications Center
NTSB Notification Date May 16 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Helena FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1624H
NTSB Number SEA04LA087
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 185A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 03317
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 23 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 1530
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jack H. Konitz
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Big Arm
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59910
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 8S1
Departure City Polson
Departure State MS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 930
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 8S1
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 Jun 22 2004 6:30PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 4195
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --