Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary CEN10IA173

Xenia, OH, USA

Aircraft #1

N93415

Univar 415-C/D

Analysis

The pilot and passenger departed for a local flight that was to remain in the airport traffic pattern of the departure airport. The pilot stated that he climbed to pattern altitude and flew a normal downwind leg for runway 25. When he turned onto the final leg of the approach, the pilot was blinded by the sun and recognized that he was too low. He attempted a climb and felt the wing hit a tree about 100 feet from the runway approach end. He reentered the traffic pattern and landed on runway 25 without further incident. Damage to the airplane included a 2-3 inch dent in the left wing leading edge, with damage to the underlying ribs. The pilot and passenger were uninjured.

Factual Information

The pilot and passenger departed for a local flight that was to remain in the airport traffic pattern of the departure airport. The pilot stated that he climbed to pattern altitude and flew a normal downwind leg for runway 25. The pilot stated that when he turned onto the final leg of the approach, he was blinded by the sun and recognized that he was too low. He attempted a climb and felt the wing hit something, which was a tree about 100 feet from the runway approach end. He reentered the traffic pattern and landed on runway 25 without further incident. Damage to the airplane included a 2-3 inch dent in the left wing leading edge with damage to the underlying ribs. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The damage was discovered by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector during an inspection of the repair facility where the airplane was undergoing repair.

Probable Cause and Findings

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper glide slope during final approach, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a tree.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

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