Eagle Neck Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Townsend, Georgia 31331
Saturday, April 25, 2009 17:20 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted a tree as the pilot was performing an aborted landing during his second attempt to land on Runway 2. The pilot reported encountering turbulence while en route and on approach. The recorded wind at an airport located 19 nautical miles northwest of the accident airport, about the time of the accident, was from 140 degrees at 8 knots. Runway 2 was 3,475 feet long, 41 feet wide, and was surrounded by trees. Winds at the airport were from the east at approximately 10 knots, as estimated by the pilot, and during the landing roll the airplane veered west of the runway centerline. The pilot applied right rudder; however, he was unable to correct for the drift. He subsequently added power to perform another aborted landing, but the airplane continued to track west and impacted a tree. The airplane received substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and the rear empennage sheared off from the fuselage. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. He reported 169 hours of total flight experience; of which, 3 hours were in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a landing roll with a crosswind. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/25/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1720
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Townsend
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31331
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 313817N
Event Location Longitude 0811935W
Event Location Airport Eagle Neck Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1GA0
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 10
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1755 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 325
Weather Observation Facility ID LHW
Elevation of weather observation facility 45
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
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) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.32
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) 25514
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 14 2009 11:30AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N561CS
NTSB Number ERA09CA268
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 DIAMOND
Aircraft Model DA20
Aircraft Series Identifier C1
Aircraft Serial Number C0002
Certified Max Gross Weight 1764
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
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 Apr 16 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 4478
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Fred Tanner
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Buford
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30519
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Savannah Aviation Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 34 Hanger Rd.
Operator City Savannah
Operator State GA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 31408
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 No
Departure Airport Code SAV
Departure City Savannah
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 1GA0
Destination City Townsend
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 26 2009 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 02
Runway Length 3475
Runway Width 41
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --