Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: None. Location: Seneca Falls, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot did not obtain a preflight weather briefing before departing on the local flight. At the time of departure the wind was from 270° at 9 knots.
The pilot took off and remained airborne for about 1 hour 15 minutes, during which time the wind velocity at the airport had increased to 17 knots with gusts to 28 knots. When he returned to the airport, he decided to land on the grass runway.
He said that he flew a normal traffic pattern, and as he was flaring to land, a wind gust raised the left wing.
He immediately applied left aileron and right rudder inputs and leveled the wings, but the airplane drifted to the left. The left main landing gear went into a ditch and the left wingtip was substantially damaged when it hit corn stalks adjacent to the runway.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate compensation for wind conditions during landing, which resulted in an impact with a drainage ditch.
NTSB Identification: ERA13CA051
This October 2012 accident report is are provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Drop that wing into the wind and always be prepared for gusts, always.
The write-ups don’t reflect the direction of the wind when it had increased to 17 gusts to 28. If this was a result of a frontal passage for instance and the wind was now cross to the chosen runway then the cross wind capability of the aircraft could have easily been exceeded. Well, at least they got the probable cause correct for a change.