Cherry Ridge Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hoensdale, Pennsylvania 18431
Saturday, April 24, 2010 13:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the tailwheel airplane stated, "my touchdown was a bounce, followed by a smaller bounce. The airplane started veering left and off the runway. I applied right rudder and added power to try to straighten out when the tail came out left. I cut the power as the ground loop occurred. The airplane came to rest 180 degrees, facing south." Damage to the airplane consisted of substantial damage to the left wing spar and left elevator. The pilot added that the accident could have been prevented by making the decision to acquire more time with landings in this type of airplane prior to solo, and prior to operating on a hard surface. The pilot reported 5 hours of total experience in the make and model accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper final approach, resulting in a bounced landing and ground loop. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in tailwheel airplanes.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/24/2010
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Hoensdale
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 18431
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413033N
Event Location Longitude 0751503W
Event Location Airport Cherry Ridge Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID N30
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 1357
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1254 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID AVP
Elevation of weather observation facility 962
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
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) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.09
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27046
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern 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 22 2010 2:54PM
User who most recently changed record malj-i
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N170JH
NTSB Number ERA10CA245
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 PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-22-135
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-1645
Certified Max Gross Weight 1900
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 8
Airframe Hours 3366
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Vincent Peter Cianfichi, Jr.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Moscow
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 18444
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Vincent Peter Cianfichi, Jr.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Moscow
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 18444
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 76N
Departure City Tunkhannock
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1245
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code N30
Destination City Hoensdale
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 20 2010 2:14PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 2420
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --