Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Addington Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Elizabethtown, Kentucky 42701
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 16:28 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that during the takeoff roll in the tailwheel-equipped airplane, just after he raised the tail to a level attitude, the airplane yawed slightly to the right. As the pilot was correcting for the right yaw, an “extreme wind gust” struck the airplane, and the airplane pitched nose-up and began to roll left. Despite the pilot’s efforts to regain directional control, the airplane departed the left side of the runway into a bean field where it nosed over. The airplane came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. He further stated that the accident would have been avoided if he had delayed his departure until the approaching weather system had passed. Weather radar data revealed that at the time of the accident a line of thunderstorms, associated with a front, were approaching the airport from the west and were observed over the airport about 8 minutes after the accident. The recorded wind at the time of the accident was from 320 degrees at 23 knots with a peak wind of 27 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during a takeoff in gusty crosswind conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to take off in gusty wind conditions associated with approaching thunderstorms.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/5/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1628 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Elizabethtown |
| Event State | KENTUCKY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 42701 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 374106N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0855518W |
| Event Location Airport | Addington Field Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | EKX |
| 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 | 775 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1642 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 10 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FTK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2800 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.89 |
| 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) | 30857 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 27 2012 3:13PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N237TA |
| NTSB Number | ERA12CA547 |
| 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 | COSTRUZIONI AERONAUTICHE TECNA |
| Aircraft Model | P92 TAIL DRAGGER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1414 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1350 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 18 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 18 |
| Airframe Hours | 20 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | HEART OF VIRGINIA AVIATION INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ASHLAND |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 23005-3428 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | HEART OF VIRGINIA AVIATION INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | ASHLAND |
| Operator State | VA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 23005-3428 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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) | Ferry |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | EKX |
| Departure City | Elizabethtown |
| Departure State | KY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1620 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MVN |
| Destination City | Mount Vernon |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 27 2012 3:13PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 23 |
| Runway Length | 6001 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |