Waycross-Ware County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Waycross, Georgia 31502
Monday, April 27, 2009 14:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot reported that the en route flight conditions of his solo cross-country flight were smooth and the arrival airport traffic pattern was normal. On final approach, a strong windshear pushed the nose of the airplane down when he was approximately 100 feet above ground level, and about 300 feet from the threshold of Runway 13. He reduced power and pulled back on the control yoke. The main landing gear impacted sandy soil prior to the runway surface, followed by the nose gear, which dug into the ground and caused the airplane to nose over. The airplane received substantial damage to both wing spars, the firewall, the left elevator, and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. He stated that the winds were 120 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The pilot reported 24 hours of total flight experience, of which 7 hours were solo flight. During a postaccident interview, the pilot discovered that he referenced the wrong scale on the airspeed indicator. The outer scale indicated airspeed in mph and the inner scale indicated airspeed in knots. He referenced the outer scale, labeled as mph, which he incorrectly thought was indicating knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during approach in gusty conditions. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's misunderstanding of the airspeed indicator.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/27/2009
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Waycross
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31502
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 311456N
Event Location Longitude 0822344W
Event Location Airport Waycross-Ware County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AYS
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 142
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1400 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID AYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 142
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.34
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) 25560
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern Region 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 20 2009 12:11PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6213G
NTSB Number ERA09CA274
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 150K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15071713
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 10 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4190
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Keith Turville
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Ponte Vedra Beach
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32082
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Keith Turville
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Ponte Vedra Beach
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 32082
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 LCQ
Departure City Lake City
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AYS
Destination City Waycross
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 20 2009 12:12PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 3258
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --