Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control after landing. A factor in this accident was the high grass along the runway edge which disguised an embankment.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On June 17, 2000, about 1030 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 140, N2063N, was substantially damaged while landing at the Twitchell Airport (3B5), Turner, Maine. The certificated private pilot was not injured and a passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed the Limington-Harmon Airport, Limington, Maine. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane landed in a northwest direction, on a grass strip near the seaplane base at 3B5. During the landing roll, the airplane drifted to the left into some high grass which was covering an embankment. The airplane went over the embankment and nosed over.
The pilot estimated that the grass strip was about 1,800 feet long, and 35 feet wide, and he had landed on the strip at other times prior to the accident. He did not report any mechanical malfunctions of the airplane.
The pilot reported 450 hours of total flight experience, of which, 350 hours were in make and model.
Winds reported at an airport about 10 miles south-southwest of the accident site, at 1035, were from 180 degrees at 9 knots.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# NYC00LA168