No fatalities

19 May 2012: CESSNA 170B — HIGHSMITH ALFRED C — Winterville, NC

Winterville, NC, United States

On 19 May 2012, a CESSNA 170B operated by HIGHSMITH ALFRED C was involved in an aviation accident near Winterville, NC. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's excessive bank at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a bean bag drop competition, a pilot banked to observe the drop, was pushed by crosswind, then stalled while avoiding trees, resulting in structural damage.

Accident Sequence

The pilot was participating in a bean bag drop competition at an airfield. Seated in the left seat, he flew the airplane while a passenger in the right seat was tasked with dropping the bean bag onto a target. The pilot overflew the runway at an altitude of 70 feet above ground level and initiated a right bank to observe where the bean bag landed.

During this maneuver, a left-to-right crosswind pushed the airplane further to the right than anticipated. As the airplane approached tall trees at the edge of the airfield, the pilot increased the right bank to avoid them. The airplane subsequently stalled and continued to sink until it collided with the ground.

Damage

The collision resulted in structural damage to the fuselage and wings.

Pilot Report

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane during the accident sequence.

Contributing factors

Capability exceededPilotAirspeed — Not attained/maintained