Wyandot County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Upper Sandusky, Ohio 43351
Tuesady, January 15, 2013 14:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he was practicing touch-and-go landings on runway 36. While on his third approach after making two landings, he noticed that the windsock was now favoring runway 18 and that the wind was gusting. He performed a go-around and made an approach to runway 18. After a conventional (tailwheel) landing, the airplaneā€™s left wing started to rise and the tail swung to the right. The pilot applied left rudder, but the tail continued to the right. The right main gear buckled and the right wing struck the runway. The wing was crushed from the strut to the tip. The pilot did not report any preaccident malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing in gusty crosswind conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/15/2013
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Upper Sandusky
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43351
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 405300N
Event Location Longitude 0831852W
Event Location Airport Wyandot County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K56D
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 830
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation 1353 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 304
Weather Observation Facility ID KFDY
Elevation of weather observation facility 813
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) -2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.3
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KFDY 151853Z AUTO 08006KT 10SM CLR M02/M08 A3030 R
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) 31021
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 Apr 10 2013 1:15PM
User who most recently changed record coln
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7ZR
NTSB Number CEN13CA136
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 AVIAT
Aircraft Model A-1C-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3040
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 22 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 8
Airframe Hours 227
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Elkhorn Farms and Hatchery, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4154 Klopfenstein Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Bucyrus
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44820
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Samuel A. Ballow
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Bucyrus
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 44820
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 K17G
Departure City Bucyrus
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code K56D
Destination City Upper Sandusky
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 10 2013 1:15PM
User who most recently changed record coln
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 3997
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --