Probable cause
The unlicensed pilot’s decision to land on a closed runway with a tailwind, his failure to attain the proper touchdown point, and his delayed decision to attempt a go-around, resulting in a collision with trees.
NTSB analysis
The unlicensed pilot was practicing landings with a tailwind in the traffic pattern at a closed airport in an unregistered airplane. The pilot refused to provide a statement, but a witness stated that the airplane was too fast on landing and too slow on climbout after the landing was aborted. The airplane struck trees at the departure end of the runway, and then settled into trees below the elevated runway. A postcrash examination of the wreckage revealed no mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA11LA168 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Feb 27, 2011
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Welch, West Virginia
- Nearest airport
- Welch Municipal (I25)
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Serious injuries
- 2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172N
- N-number
- N739NY
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.