Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Elkins, West Virginia 26241
Saturday, August 13, 2011 11:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The certified flight instructor (CFI) directed the student pilot to perform a touch-and-go landing. During climb out, the CFI informed the student they would be conducting some mountain flying and instructed him to climb straight ahead over a ridge line. Upon clearing the ridge line, the CFI directed the student to make a right turn into a canyon. After entering the canyon, the CFI realized he was in the wrong area and the airplane would be unable to clear the ridge line in front of them. He took control of the airplane and made a left turn towards the left side of the canyon. He then initiated a hard right turn and realized there was insufficient room to reverse course. He leveled the wings of the airplane and it collided with the trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage and came to rest on the side of the ridge. The CFI stated there were no mechanical problems with the airplane and he was unfamiliar with the geographic area.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The flight instructor's unfamiliarity with the geographic area, resulting in controlled flight into terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/13/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1130 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Elkins |
| Event State | WEST VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 26241 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 385322N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0795125W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Unknown |
| Time of the weather observation | 1151 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EKN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1987 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| 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) | 28933 |
| 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 | Oct 12 2011 10:40AM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5399Q |
| NTSB Number | ERA11CA450 |
| 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 | 172M |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17261784 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 3 |
| 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 | Dec 7 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 85 |
| Airframe Hours | 3220 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WJB LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3511 SILVERSIDE RD STE 105 |
| Aircraft Owner City | WILMINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19810-4902 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Michael D. Knopp |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Williamstown |
| Operator State | WV |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 26187 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | EKN |
| Departure City | Elkins |
| Departure State | WV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1115 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | EKN |
| Destination City | Elkins |
| Destination State | WV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 5 2011 2:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |