Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Fayetteville Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fayetteville, North Carolina 28306
Friday, February 17, 2012 17:32 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was in the traffic pattern for landing and was informed by the tower air traffic controller that there was a large airplane (Gulfstream) at his one o'clock position on a 5-mile final approach. The accident pilot replied at 17:27:19, "I see the gulfstream ah gulfstream on the final." A 5.72-mile separation was noted on the controller’s radar screen at that time. At 17:27:24, the approach controller informed the accident airplane, which was at 2,500 feet, "caution wake turbulence" and instructed the pilot to contact the tower. The accident airplane was cleared to land on runway 4 by the controller at 17:27:54. The pilot acknowledged the transmission. The tower controller informed the accident pilot, “caution wake turbulence from the gulfstream" at 17:29:09. The response from the accident airplane was unintelligible. The pilot stated he encountered wake turbulence from the Gulfstream that landed ahead of him and lost airplane control. A witness observed the airplane about 8 feet over the runway when it stalled and landed hard. The pilot applied full engine power and attempted a go-around. The airplane drifted to the left toward an airplane parking ramp, struck a light pole, and spun around, coming to rest in a grass area past the parking ramp.
The required separation in accordance with FAA regulations was 4 miles. It stated that a pilot landing a smaller airplane behind a larger airplane on the same runway should stay above the larger airplane’s final approach path and land beyond it to avoid an encounter with wake turbulence. The pilot had contacted the tower controller, after a handoff from the approach controller, and was cautioned again about wake turbulence. It is likely that the pilot did not land beyond the Gulfstream's touchdown point, and the airplane encountered wake turbulence, which led to the runway excursion and on-ground collision with a pole. The pilot stated he did not experience any mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate separation behind a large airplane during landing, which resulted in an encounter with wake turbulence and a loss of control.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/17/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1732 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Fayetteville |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28306 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345906N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0785322W |
| Event Location Airport | Fayetteville Regional Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | FAY |
| 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 | 189 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1753 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FAY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 189 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| 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) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| 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) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31507 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 27 2013 11:39AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N118RZ |
| NTSB Number | ERA12LA184 |
| 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 | MOONEY AIRPLANE CO INC |
| Aircraft Model | M20TN |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 31-0069 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3368 |
| 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 14 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 33 |
| Airframe Hours | 390 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Tenn Realty LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fayetteville |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 28305 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Nitin D. Desai |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Fayetteville |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 28305 |
| 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 | RDU |
| Departure City | Raleigh |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1707 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | FAY |
| Destination City | Fayetville |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2013 4:17PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 04 |
| Runway Length | 7709 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |