AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2014 - 80

THE FLIGHT

An IFR plan was filed from
Potomac Airfield (VKX) in
Friendly, Maryland, and the
Cessna 210 departed about 3:50
p.m. Eastern time on April 19,
2013, bound for Williamsburg,
Virginia (JGG).
It was a typical spring afternoon in the Mid-Atlantic region
with VFR conditions ahead of
a cold front. An associated line
of thunderstorms was pushing
in from the west, but they were
not close enough to impact the
flight. However, another weather
phenomenon that many pilots often
shrug off may have been critical.
Wi l l i a m s b u rg 's Ru n wa y
13 was preferred that afternoon. According to witnesses,
the airplane passed beyond the
extended runway centerline
when the pilot reported on the
common traffic advisory frequency that he was turning from
the base leg to final approach for
Runway 13. The Cessna entered
a steep right turn towards the
runway, pitched down, and
descended at a steep angle
behind a tree line. The pilot and
his wife were fatally injured.
THE PILOT AND AIRCRAFT

According to FAA records, the
pilot held a commercial certificate, with airplane single-engine
land, multiengine land (limited to centerline thrust), and
instrument ratings. A third class
medical certificate was issued
in March 2013 and the last
80 | AOPA PILOT September 2014

flight review was completed on
March 20, 2013.
The pilot had 336 civilian
flight hours but had logged 4,297
hours of military flight time; he
was not exactly new to aviation.
Time in type was not reported.
The Cessna 210E was manufactured in 1965 with an annual
inspection completed on October 26,
2012, at 4,547 total airframe hours.
The engine had approximately 153
total hours since major overhaul and
113 hours since engine removal following a propeller strike. Only 32
hours had elapsed since the last
annual inspection. There was
no indication of any aircraft
malfunction.
WEATHER

At 4:55 p.m., the time of the accident, the automated weather
reporting system observation at
Williamsburg showed wind from
180 degrees at 14 knots, gusting
to 28 knots; 10 miles of visibility; clear sky; temperature 28
degrees Celsius; dew point 19
degrees C; and a barometric
altimeter setting of 29.75.
In the somewhat obscure language of text airmets: "LLWS
POTENTIAL...ME NH VT MA
RI CT NY LO NJ PA OH LE
WV MD DC DE VA AND CSTL
WTRS BOUNDED BY 20ESE
YOW-40ENE ENE-ACK-40ESE
SBY-20ENE HMV-20SSW AIR50NNW ERI-20ESE YOW LLWS
EXP. CONDS CONTG BYD 21Z
THRU 03Z"
Briefly translated, there was
low-level windshear potential for
the states listed.

Ac c o rd i n g t o t h e N T S B
(summarized), "The NWS constant pressure chart for 2000
EDT depicted a band of 50-knot
winds at 5,000 feet from the
south over the area associated
with a strong pressure gradient... The wind profile of the
sounding indicated a surface
wind was from 210 degrees at 23
knots with winds increasing in
speed with little direction variation through 18,000 feet.
"A low-level jet stream was
identified at 4,000 feet with wind
from 215 degrees at 54 knots, with
winds above 50 knots at 1,000 feet
msl. The sounding indicated a
potential low-level wind shear
below 1,000 feet due to strong
vertical wind shears."
Airmets were out for moderate turbulence below 14,000
feet and a few pireps confirmed
that, mostly over the mountainous terrain to the west.
THE AIRPORT

The Williamsburg-Jamestown
Airport is a nontowered airport
in Class G airspace. Runway
13/31 is 3,204 feet in length and
60 feet wide, with right traffic
specified for Runway 13.
NTSB PROBABLE CAUSE

The NTSB determined the probable cause(s) of this accident to
be: "The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during a
base-to-final turn with a gusting
wind and potential turbulence/
wind shear, which resulted in an
aerodynamic stall and collision
with terrain."
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2014
