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14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, May 19, 2012 in Winterville, NC
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/26/2012
Aircraft: CESSNA 170B, registration: N170ED
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot reported that he was participating in a "bean bag drop" competition at the airfield. He was flying from the left seat while his right-seat passenger was to drop the bean bag onto the target. He overflew the runway at 70 feet above the ground and banked right to see where the bean bag landed. There was a left-to-right crosswind that pushed him farther right than anticipated. As the airplane approached tall trees at the edge of the airfield, the pilot banked further right to avoid them. The airplane stalled, descended, and collided with the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's excessive bank at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
The pilot reported that he was participating in a "bean bag drop" competition at the airfield. He was flying from the left seat while his right-seat passenger was to drop the bean bag onto the target. He overflew the runway at 70 feet above the ground and banked right to see where the bean bag landed. There was a left-to-right crosswind that pushed him further right than anticipated. As he approached tall trees at the edge of the airfield, he banked further right to avoid them. The airplane stalled and continued to sink until it collided with the ground. Structural damage to the fuselage and wings resulted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane during the accident sequence.
NTSB Identification: ERA12CA344
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, May 19, 2012 in Winterville, NC
Aircraft: CESSNA 170B, registration: N170ED
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
The pilot reported that he was participating in a "bean bag drop" competition at the airfield. He was flying from the left seat while his right-seat passenger was to drop the bean bag onto the target. He overflew the runway at 70 feet above the ground and banked right to see where the bean bag landed. There was a left-to-right crosswind that pushed him further right than anticipated. As he approached tall trees at the edge of the airfield, he banked further right to avoid them. The airplane stalled and continued to sink until it collided with the ground. Structural damage to the fuselage and wings resulted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane during the accident sequence.
A single-engine plane crashed in the woods behind a County Home Road home Saturday afternoon and resulted in minor injuries, a State Highway Patrol official said.
Two Burgaw men were in the Cessna 170B aircraft when it crashed shortly before 2 p.m. after departing the South Oaks Aerodome at 6440 County Home Road, Sgt. William Crane of the State Highway Patrol said.
"The airplane was taking off from the airport," Sgt. Crane said. "The co-pilot said they were banking right and the next thing he knew they were on the ground."
The plane crashed into the woods behind a home at 6606 County Home Road.
The pilot, Al Highsmith, was taken to Vidant Medical Center for treatment but had minor injuries, according to Pitt County Emergency Management Director Noel Lee.
"They were both up walking around," Lee said of Highsmith and the second occupant, 25-year-old Shane Caison.
Caison said he didn't know what went wrong.
"I was just sightseeing," he said. "He made a turn, and the next thing I knew I was looking at pine trees."
Crane said it appeared the plane clipped a tree just prior to going down, but he didn't believe that to be the cause of the crash.
Highsmith and Caison were lucky, Crane and Lee said.
"This is not something that happens often," Lee said. He said the last crash in this area occurred last year.
Ayden Fire, Ayden Rescue, the State Highway Patrol, the Pitt County Sheriff's Office and Pitt County Emergency Management responded to the scene, Lee said.
He said the Federal Aviation Administration had been contacted and would be handling the investigation.
WINTERVILLE, N.C. - State Highway Patrol officers tell 9 On Your Side two people suffered minor injuries after their small plane crashed near County Home Road.
Local Fire and EMS crews were dispatched to the scene shortly before 2 p.m.
Passenger, 25-year-old Shane Caison, says Al Highsmith, who Caison says is in his 50s, was flying the plane. Both men are from Burgaw and were "flying around" after taking off from South Oaks Aerodrome.
Both escaped from the plane with minor injuries. Caison told our crews at the scene they were flying a four-passenger Cessna. He says he thinks the plane is totaled.
Caison says he's "not sure what went wrong," but that Highsmith has been a pilot for more than 20 years.
"The plane was taking off from the private airport right behind us, and it was banking to the right, and the copilot says he doesn't know what happened after that," confirmed Highway Patrol Sgt. William Crane, who investigated the crash.
Emergency responders transported Highsmith to Vidant Medical Center for possible stitches in his head.
Passenger, 25-year-old Shane Caison, says Al Highsmith, who Caison says is in his 50s, was flying the plane. Both men are from Burgaw and were "flying around" after taking off from South Oaks Aerodrome.
Both escaped from the plane with minor injuries. Caison told our crews at the scene they were flying a four-passenger Cessna. He says he thinks the plane is totaled.
Caison says he's "not sure what went wrong," but that Highsmith has been a pilot for more than 20 years.
"The plane was taking off from the private airport right behind us, and it was banking to the right, and the copilot says he doesn't know what happened after that," confirmed Highway Patrol Sgt. William Crane, who investigated the crash.
Emergency responders transported Highsmith to Vidant Medical Center for possible stitches in his head.
