Air Harbor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Greensboro, North Carolina 27455
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 19:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was on approach to land on runway 27. The pilot reported that, when the airplane was about 30 to 40 feet above the ground, it experienced a sudden gust of wind which resulted in a loss of altitude and a veer to the left. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its left wing when it struck a parked, unoccupied airplane before coming to rest on the ground. A weather observation taken at an airport located about 8 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, reported winds from 200 degrees at 13 knots. The reported winds 1 hour before and 1 hour after that observation were from 210 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 28 knots, and from 220 degrees at 17 knots, gusting to 24 knots, respectively.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for a wind gust during the landing approach, which resulted in a loss of directional control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/7/2010
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1940
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Greensboro
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27455
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361025N
Event Location Longitude 0794811W
Event Location Airport Air Harbor
Event Location Nearest Airport ID W88
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 822
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1954 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID GSO
Elevation of weather observation facility 910
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
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) 78
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 51
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
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) 29.87
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) 27040
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 Jun 10 2010 8:15PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N332JM
NTSB Number ERA10CA217
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 Mason
Aircraft Model Aventura II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number AA1A0146
Certified Max Gross Weight 1430
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Apr 6 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 73
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Joseph E. Mason
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Belews Creek
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 27009
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name David R. Chesney
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Greensboro
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 27455
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 DAN
Departure City Danville
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code W88
Destination City Greensboro
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 10 2010 8:15PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 2460
Runway Width 65
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --