The Farm Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wrightsville, Georgia 31096
Sunday, May 18, 2008 14:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight was taking off on a personal cross country flight when a gust of wind caught the airplane, forcing the nose up. The pilot pushed the nose down and the airplane impacted the ground along side the runway, causing substantial damage. The pilot reported winds were 10 knots gusting to 30 knots. A weather reporting station 45 miles away reported that the winds were from 270 degrees magnetic at 10 knots gusting to 21 knots about the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control during takeoff. Contributing to the accident were the gusty winds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/18/2008
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City WRIGHTSVILLE
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31096
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport The Farm Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 01GE
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 375
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) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KMCN
Elevation of weather observation facility 354
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 50
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 21
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.74
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) 25308
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 18 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 3 2009 5:15PM
User who most recently changed record dinc
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office COLLEGE PARK FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4553J
NTSB Number CHI08LA137
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28R-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 30414
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 3
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 6206
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Edward J. Kobs
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Woodstock
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30188
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Edward J. Kobs
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Woodstock
Operator State GA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 30188
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 01GE
Departure City WRIGHTSVILLE
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code VPC
Destination City Cartersville
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 3 2009 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record dinc
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28
Runway Length 2560
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --