Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Terry County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Brownfield, Texas 79359
Sunday, March 18, 2007 18:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The single-engine airplane impacted terrain while performing basic flight maneuvers. The 184-hour instrument rated private pilot reported in the NTSB Form 6120.1 (Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report) that he had flown out 25 nautical miles to their local practice area to execute ground reference maneuvers. He added that he first executed S-turns across a road and then practiced "turns around a point" at an altitude of approximately 800 feet above ground level. The pilot added that while executing the turns around a point maneuver, the airplane encountered "a sudden downdraft" that "pushed the airplane to the ground." The pilot's efforts to control the airplane were not effective and the airplane impacted a soft wheat field in the upright position. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, who responded to the accident site, stated that upon impact with the ground "the nose landing gear dug-into the soft soil, sheared-off, and the aircraft flipped upside down approximately 200 feet from the initial impact point." He further stated that he found the nose gear assembly approximately 50 feet south of the resting point of the airplane. The pilot and student pilot passenger received minor injuries and were able to exit the airplane unassisted. The airplane sustained structural damage to the fuselage, wings, and engine mounts. An engine examination and teardown was performed by an airframe and powerplant mechanic in the presence of the FAA inspector. No engine anomalies were found that could have prevented normal operation. The weather at the nearest weather reporting facility located approximately 5 miles to the east of the accident site, reported wind from the southwest at 14 knots gusting to 18 knots, clear skies, 10 miles visibility, and barometric pressure setting of 29.87 inches of Mercury.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering. A contributing factor was the gusty wind conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/18/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1800 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Brownfield |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 79359 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 331023N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1021134W |
| Event Location Airport | Terry County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KBFE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 7 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 3264 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1805 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KBFE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 3264 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 225 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 18 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.87 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21608 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Regional Operations Center, FT |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 18 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2007 1:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Lubbock, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4242U |
| NTSB Number | DFW07CA085 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15060242 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4596 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Steven Bernstein |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Levelland |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 79336 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Levelland |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 79336 |
| 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 | KLLN |
| Departure City | Levelland |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1800 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 25 2007 4:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |