Beechcraft C23 N24598

Summary

On 6 August 2008 at about 12:30 local time, a Beechcraft C23 registered N24598 was involved in an accident near Augusta, Kansas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 August 2008 at 12:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Augusta, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Augusta Municipal (3AU)

Coordinates

37.6717, -97.0778

Aircraft

Beechcraft C23

Registration

N24598

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Augusta → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN08CA133

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. Contributing to the accident were the flight instructor's inadequate supervision, turbulence, airspeed was not maintained, and compensation for the wind conditions was inadequate.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor said the weather report indicated rain to the north and northeast that was moving to the east. He observed rain and lightning to the distant north, and he made the decision to give his student some experience in touch-and-go and crosswind landings. He said the wind was out of the east-northeast at 14 knots. As they taxied for takeoff, he checked the weather using a nearby airport's ASOS, and it was reporting the wind from 050 degrees at 10 knots. The takeoff and crosswind and downwind legs were without incident. When they turned on to final approach, the student used the VASI lights as an aid for proper glide path. The instructor said that their speed was 70 knots and the student had deployed one notch of flaps. When they were on a 1-1/2 mile final approach, they encountered turbulence and airspeed had dropped to 68 knots. Short of the runway threshold, the airplane "experienced a sinking action" from an altitude of about 30 to 40 feet. The instructor pushed the nose down "to gain some lift," then pulled up to flare. The airplane continued to sink and struck the runway "at a high rate" and bounced. The airplane touched down again and skidded off the left side of the runway onto the grass. It struck a ditch and the nose gear collapsed. Later examination revealed the left main landing gear had been torn off and it struck the left horizontal stabilizer, denting the leading edge and bending the stabilizer midspan. After the accident, the nearest weather reporting facility reported winds from 080 degrees at 19 knots, gusting to 28 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.