Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Salisbury, Maryland 21221
Saturday, September 21, 2013 15:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot/owner of the experimental, amateur-built airplane said that the tower controller cleared him to land on runway 14, and advised that the wind was from 180 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 26 knots. The pilot elected to continue the landing, and during the landing roll, a "strong" gust of wind pushed the airplane off the left side of the runway, where it struck a runway light and sustained substantial damage to the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/21/2013
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Salisbury
Event State MARYLAND
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 21221
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 382014N
Event Location Longitude 0753034W
Event Location Airport SALISBURY-OCEAN CITY WICOMICO
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SBY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 179
Airport Elevation 53
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1500 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KSBY
Elevation of weather observation facility 53
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.8
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KSBY 211854Z 17013G19KT 10SM SCT036 BKN048 2
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) 32552
NTSB Notification Source Baltimore FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 17 2014 11:18AM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N99KL
NTSB Number ERA13CA425
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 LENNOX KENNETH J
Aircraft Model ZODIAC 601HDS
Aircraft Series Identifier HDS
Aircraft Serial Number 6-3783
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 2
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 10 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 390
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name LENNOX KENNETH J
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City FRUITLAND
Aircraft Owner State MD
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 218261310
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name LENNOX KENNETH J
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City FRUITLAND
Operator State MD
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 218261310
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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 W48
Departure City Essex
Departure State MD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SBY
Destination City Salisbury
Destination State MD
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 17 2014 11:19AM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 6400
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --