Bowman Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Louisville, Kentucky 40205
Sunday, August 22, 2004 13:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After landing on runway 24, the airplane began to veer to the right. The pilot applied left rudder to compensate, and as the airplane began to move, the right wingtip scraped the runway. After realigning the airplane on the centerline of the runway, the pilot released left rudder input and the left main landing gear collapsed. As the airplane veered to the left, the pilot applied right rudder, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane then slid to a stop on the remaining runway. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed substantial damage to the left wing spar, and no pre-impact mechanical deficiencies were observed. Additionally, the pilot had recently purchased the airplane and the accident occurred during his first hour, and fifth landing in it.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control on the runway during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/22/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1350
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Louisville
Event State KENTUCKY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 40205
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 381340N
Event Location Longitude 0853949W
Event Location Airport Bowman Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LOU
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 546
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LOU
Elevation of weather observation facility 546
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
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) 16773
NTSB Notification Source FAA SROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2004 11:17AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N151BW
NTSB Number NYC04CA196
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 Wahl
Aircraft Model S-51D
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 149
Certified Max Gross Weight 3500
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Aug 16 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 146
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name George Keyes
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Louisville
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 40205
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 JVY
Departure City Jeffersonville
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LOU
Destination City Louisville
Destination State KY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 27 2004 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 4326
Runway Width 80
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --