Hilltop Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cambridge, Ohio 43725
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 16:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was returning from a local solo flight when the aircraft impacted trees and terrain about 200 feet short of the runway. The weight-shift-control, delta wing configured, light sport aircraft sustained substantial damage to the fuselage structure. The pilot stated that the approach was lower than normal and that he added full throttle in an attempt to recover, but was unsuccessful. The pilot commented that the aircraft had encountered some turbulence during the flight. He speculated that the aircraft may have encountered a downdraft on short final. The pilot reported that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the aircraft. A postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. The pilot held a student pilot certificate and had received about 18 hours of instruction. However, he had not flown in the local area prior to the accident flight. The airport was located on the top of a hill; wind in the local area was from the southwest at 4 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees and terrain during the landing approach.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/5/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Cambridge
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43725
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400459N
Event Location Longitude 0813521W
Event Location Airport Hilltop
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2OA6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1000
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID ZZV
Elevation of weather observation facility 900
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
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) -1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
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 Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28165
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Columbus FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2011 5:15PM
User who most recently changed record sort
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N456KL
NTSB Number CEN11CA147
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PEGASUS
Aircraft Model 503 SPORT
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7591
Certified Max Gross Weight 858
Aircraft Category Ultralight
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 Nov 30 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 530
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James Ross
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cambridge
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43725
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name James Ross
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Cambridge
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 43725
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 2OA6
Departure City Cambridge
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1520
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 2OA6
Destination City Cambridge
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 26 2011 3:10PM
User who most recently changed record sort
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 02
Runway Length 2090
Runway Width 52
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --