Grand Strand Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

N Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29578
Friday, September 7, 2007 15:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the Piper PA-28-181 was on final approach to land on runway 5, a 5,996-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, asphalt runway, when the airplane encountered a gust of wind. The pilot attempted a go-around; however, the airplane subsequently impacted water on the left side of the runway, and came to rest inverted. The airplane's left wing spar was fractured. Winds reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, were from 130 degrees, at 9 knots, gusting to 20 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during a go-around, which resulted in a collision with water. A factor in this accident was the crosswind conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/7/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City N Myrtle Beach
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29578
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334842N
Event Location Longitude 0784326W
Event Location Airport Grand Strand
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CRE
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 32
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) --
Weather Observation Facility ID CRE
Elevation of weather observation facility 32
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
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) 22471
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern Region
NTSB Notification Date Sep 8 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 31 2007 7:09AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbia, SC

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3063Y
NTSB Number NYC07CA218
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-181
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7990390
Certified Max Gross Weight 2580
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2728
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Martin J. Geraghty
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Englewood
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34223
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 SSI
Departure City Brunswick
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CRE
Destination City N Myrtle Beach
Destination State SC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2007 2:30PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 5
Runway Length 5996
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --