Emporia-Greensville Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Emporia, Virginia 23847
Tuesady, December 23, 2008 14:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While landing the Special Light Sport Aircraft at an airport during his first solo cross-country flight, the student pilot encountered a strong wind gust during the downwind to base turn. After turning into the final leg he was "well above the approach path indicator." He then encountered difficulty in “getting the plane on the runway.” During the flare the airplane floated and he applied a “small amount of power,” to keep the airplane from stalling. As the airplane flew above the runway it drifted to the left. After the airplane touched down, the student heard and felt the left main landing gear impact something. Recorded winds at the accident airport were variable at 7 knots. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane had struck a runway light with its left main landing gear. The airplane's fuselage structure had come into contact with a bell crank during the accident, and a rod end that attached to the bell crank broke. This rendered the pitch control system inoperative. The student pilot stated that he should have "gone around," but he was a "little confused about the airspeed at the time." As a result of this statement, NTSB investigators examined photographic evidence of the airplane's cockpit, and the airspeed information that was published in the airplane manufacturer's Pilot Operating Handbook (POH). The examinations revealed that the airspeed indicator's indicator and airspeed color code range markings did not agree with the information published in the supplied airplane manufacturer's POH and also that the markings were inaccurate. This could lead to confusion as well as an accident, as the indicated airspeed is an important value for the pilot as it directly indicates stall speed and various airframe structurally limited speeds, regardless of density altitude. Furthermore, it was discovered that the stall speed information and airspeed indicator calibration information published in the POH in many cases was inaccurate and contained large differences (in several instances almost 20 knots) between the published indicated airspeeds and the published calibrated airspeeds.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing. Contributing to the accident was the improperly marked airspeed indicator and the airplane manufacturer's improper airspeed information.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/23/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1445
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Emporia
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23847
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 364113N
Event Location Longitude 0772858W
Event Location Airport Emporia-Greensville Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID EMV
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 127
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1440 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID EMV
Elevation of weather observation facility 127
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.63
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) 27634
NTSB Notification Source FAA/FSDO Richmond, VA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 1 2010 3:12PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N524SC
NTSB Number ERA09LA111
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 CZECH AIRCRAFT WORKS
Aircraft Model SportCruiser
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 07SC020
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Dec 5 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 658
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Taylor Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City NORFOLK
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23507
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Tidewater Flight Center
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Chesapeake
Operator State VA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 23323
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CPX
Departure City Norfolk
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1354
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code EMV
Destination City Emporia
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 1 2010 3:13PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 5044
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --