Warren-Sugarbush Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Warren, Vermont 05674
Saturday, May 29, 2004 11:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was landing on runway 4, a 2,575-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that the airplane was approximately 10 feet above the runway, when it encountered a strong wind shear and dropped "fast and hard" onto the runway. The pilot aborted the landing and was informed over the Unicom, that the airplane's left main landing gear had separated. The pilot elected to divert to another airport, where he performed a gear up landing, without further incident. The elevation at the accident site was about 1,470 feet. Winds reported at an airport that was located about 13 miles northeast of the accident site, and at an elevation of 1,165 feet, about the time of the accident, were from 310 degrees, at 14 knots, with 21 knot gusts.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in this accident was the wind shear as reported by the pilot.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/29/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Warren
Event State VERMONT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 05674
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 440700N
Event Location Longitude 0724937W
Event Location Airport Warren-Sugarbush
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 0B7
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 1470
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1151 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 65
Weather Observation Facility ID MPV
Elevation of weather observation facility 1165
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
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) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 21
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
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) 16173
NTSB Notification Source New England Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date May 31 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1145
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 Portland

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N53WM
NTSB Number NYC04CA135
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 Mooney
Aircraft Model M20R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 29-0191
Certified Max Gross Weight 3368
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 Feb 7 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 67
Airframe Hours 1048
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ivan R. Burns
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Concord
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 01742
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Ivan Burns
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Concord
Operator State MA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 01742
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 BED
Departure City Bedford
Departure State MA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 0B7
Destination City Warren
Destination State VT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 24 2004 11:39AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 4
Runway Length 2575
Runway Width 30
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --