Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
York Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
York, South Carolina 29745
Saturday, May 25, 2013 13:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The private pilot was attempting to land an experimental airplane on a grass runway. As the airplane descended to treetop level on final approach, it encountered a sudden decrease in airspeed and a rapid rate of descent. After arresting the descent the airplane caught a gust of wind and the left wing rose almost vertically and pushed the airplane to the right. The pilot was able to correct the right roll; however, the airplane impacted a fence and continued about 10 feet before colliding with the side of a hangar resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would preclude normal operations, and stated that he should have attempted to land with a faster airspeed due to the gusty wind conditions.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while landing in gusty wind conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/25/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | York |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29745 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 350133N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0811506W |
| Event Location Airport | York Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 01SC |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 779 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1654 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 20 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AKH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 798 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.27 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KAKH 251654Z AUTO VRB05KT 10SM CLR 22/06 A30 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31542 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 20 2013 4:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N677NC |
| NTSB Number | ERA13CA255 |
| 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 | FLIGHTSTAR SPORTPLANES |
| Aircraft Model | FLIGHTSTAR II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 271 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| 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 | Apr 4 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1026 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | JAMES K PEELER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | CHERRYVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 28021-9629 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | JOSEPH STRALEY |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | HICKORY |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| 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 | 1NC9 |
| Departure City | CHERRYVILLE |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 01SC |
| Destination City | YORK |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 20 2013 4:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 2580 |
| Runway Width | 120 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |