Southern Cross Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Williamstown, New Jersey 08094
Saturday, August 28, 2004 14:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was on approach to a 2,400-foot-long, 80-foot-wide, turf runway. The pilot reported that everything seemed normal until the airplane settled hard and "dropped" onto the runway. The airplane's empennage struck the ground, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane flipped over. A pilot-rated passenger reported that the pilot started to flare "a little too high," and the airplane stalled about 10 to 12 feet above the ground. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/28/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Williamstown
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 08094
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393920N
Event Location Longitude 0750052W
Event Location Airport Southern Cross
Event Location Nearest Airport ID C01
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 145
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1445 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PHL
Elevation of weather observation facility 36
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16594
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 28 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2010
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Philadelphia

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N524JN
NTSB Number NYC04CA198
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 Pettigrew, Richard
Aircraft Model RV-6A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 23598
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 687
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William C. Labs
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Estell Manor
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 08319
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 No
Departure Airport Code CGE
Departure City Cambridge
Departure State MD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code C01
Destination City Williamstown
Destination State NJ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 15 2004 2:45PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 2700
Runway Width 80
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --