N4338B

On June 15, 2001, about 0745 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 170B, N4338B, veered off runway 24 and collided with an embankment following a bounced landing at the Payson Airport, Payson, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight was performed under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot owned and operated the airplane, and it was substantially damaged during the mishap. Neither the private pilot nor the pilot-rated passenger was injured. The flight originated from the Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona, about 0715.

The pilot verbally indicated to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the airplane initially touched down smoothly but it subsequently bounced, and he attempted to recover. The stall warning horn activated, directional control was lost, and while depositing about 300 feet of skid marks on the runway's surface, the airplane exited off the side of the runway.

The pilot-rated passenger verbally indicated to the Safety Board investigator that the pilot's final approach was normal, and the pilot performed a perfect, smooth wheel landing. However, the airplane then began veering left and the pilot attempted to correct. He overcorrected when heavy brakes were applied, and the airplane veered right and exited off the side of the runway.

In the pilot's completed accident report, he indicated that he had overcorrected for the crosswind condition upon encountering a wind gust. He also reported that his total experience flying airplanes was 84.8 hours, of which 47.2 hours were as pilot-in-command in the accident model of airplane. He indicated that the accident could have been prevented had he more training handling the airplane in crosswind and gust conditions.

According to the airport’s Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS) about 0800 the local wind was from 040 degrees. Its speed was 3 knots.