Perry-Houston County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Perry, Georgia 31069
Tuesady, February 19, 2008 11:35 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot of the airplane departed and flew for approximately 1 hour before returning to find stronger, gusting winds. He initially intended to do "some touch and go landings," but due to the wind conditions, he opted to end the flight with a single, full stop landing. Due to the gusts, the pilot made a go-around on his first approach. He used a reduced flap setting of 20 degrees for his second approach, and during the flare, a gust of wind caused the airplane to "balloon." The pilot attempted to recover by adding power, but the airplane landed hard, nose gear first, bounced, and then landed normally. The pilot taxied to the terminal without further incident. The pilot did not experience any preimpact failures or malfunctions with the airplane. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The weather observation at an airport 11 miles to the northeast, about the time of the accident, showed winds from 250 degrees, at 8 knots, with gusts to 16 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during landing. Contributing to the accident were the gusting winds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/19/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1135
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Perry
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31069
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 323036N
Event Location Longitude 0834602W
Event Location Airport Perry-Houston County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PXE
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1555 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 45
Weather Observation Facility ID WRB
Elevation of weather observation facility 294
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 16
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.27
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) 23384
NTSB Notification Source Atlanta FSDO Representative
NTSB Notification Date Feb 22 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA / FSDO Atlanta GA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3015E
NTSB Number NYC08CA110
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1721404
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4968
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Central Georgia Aviation
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Central Georgia Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Perry
Operator State GA
Operator Country USA
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PXE
Departure City Perry
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PXE
Destination City Perry
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2008 7:04PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --