Fulton County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wauseon, Ohio 43567
Saturday, December 3, 2011 15:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot lost directional control during the sixth landing on his initial solo flight. He reported experiencing a shifting wind at the time of the accident. The airplane departed the runway pavement and encountered a ditch, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot commented that he might have used the wrong rudder pedal in his attempt to maintain directional control. He stated that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane prior the accident. The local wind was recorded at 6 knots or less during the 2-hour period surrounding the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's loss of directional control during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/3/2011
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Wauseon
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43567
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413637N
Event Location Longitude 0840738W
Event Location Airport Fulton County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID USE
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 779
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1452 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 100
Weather Observation Facility ID TOL
Elevation of weather observation facility 683
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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) 29596
NTSB Notification Source FAA-AGL ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 26 2012 2:38PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N737ET
NTSB Number CEN12CA099
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 CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17269367
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Dec 2 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5540.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Gary M Zoldowski
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Brooklyn
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 49230
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Stewart Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Wauseon
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 43527
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code USE
Departure City Wauseon
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code USE
Destination City Wauseon
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 19 2012 5:16PM
User who most recently changed record sort
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 3882
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --