Grumman American AA-5B N4542P

Summary

On 13 November 1999 at about 18:30 local time, a Grumman American AA-5B registered N4542P was involved in an accident near Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 November 1999 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Fayetteville Airport (I89)

Coordinates

38.0495, -81.1002

Aircraft

Grumman American AA-5B

Registration

N4542P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blacksburg → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC00LA033

3 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's decision to continue the landing attempt too far down the runway. A factor was the pilot's self-induced pressure to land the airplane, due to the sickness of the front seat passenger.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

One of the passengers, sitting in the right front seat, became sick as the airplane approached the airport. As the pilot turned the airplane downwind, the passenger became sick again. The pilot made a 'normal' full-flap approach, but the airplane was slightly fast on final, and touched down twice before reaching an elevated crest in the runway. The pilot applied hard braking after the second touchdown, and the airplane skidded forward. It then went over the crest, and the pilot knew that he could not stop it before reaching the end. The pilot added full power, and the airplane became airborne. The right wing struck a tree, and the airplane swung around 180 degrees before falling to the ground. The pilot had utilized Runway 03, and stated that he could not judge where the end of the runway was, due to the crest. According to the Airport/Facility Directory, there was no line of sight between the runway ends. The runway sloped upward from the departure end, until 62 feet before the departure end. Weather, recorded at an airport 30 nautical miles to the northwest, 24 minutes after the accident, included winds from 240 degrees magnetic, at 3 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.