Southwest Washington Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kelso, Washington 98626
Thursday, March 8, 2012 16:02 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was landing the airplane on runway 12. The automated weather observing system recorded that the wind was from 170 degrees at 6 knots. The pilot stated that, while in the landing flare, the wind pushed the tail of the airplane to the left; he corrected with left rudder and power to align the airplane with the runway. The airplane continued to veer to the right, went off the right side of the runway, and nosed over in the soft ground. Damage included wrinkled wing skin and a buckled left lift strut.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot did not maintain directional control during the landing flare.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/8/2012
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1602
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Kelso
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98626
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 460705N
Event Location Longitude 1225254W
Event Location Airport Southwest Washington Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KKLS
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1615 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KKLS
Elevation of weather observation facility 20
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KKLS 090015Z AUTO 17006KT 10SM CLR 17/02 A3018 RMK
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) 29819
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record May 16 2012 7:14PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5290D
NTSB Number WPR12CA127
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 17272496
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 Mar 22 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1870
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BOWDEN DAVID L
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WOODLAND
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98674-1300
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BOWDEN DAVID L
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WOODLAND
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98674-1300
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 KKLS
Departure City Kelso
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KKLS
Destination City Kelso
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2012 4:43PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 12
Runway Length 4390
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --