Amateur-built REBEL accident near Cadiz, Ohio, September 19, 1998
On September 19, 1998 at about 9:50 pm local time, a amateur-built REBEL, registered N61538, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cadiz, Ohio (Harrison County Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for winds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 19, 1998 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Cadiz, Ohio · Harrison County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built REBEL
- Registration
- N61538 · no longer on the register · serial 205
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing flare, a wind gust pushed the airplane's left wing up, the right main landing gear touched down and the pilot forced the left wing down 'hard'. The airplane departed the right side of runway 31, collided with a ditch parallel to the runway and nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. He also reported that he recently purchased the airplane and had accrued approximately 20 flight hours in make and model. A witness reported that the wind was 'blowing off and on all day and was gusting at about 7 or 8 knots from the southwest.'
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 313 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 243 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,130 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 6, 1997; 258 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,730 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MNN Marion OH at 8:30 pm
- Destination: 8G6
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 31, 4,173 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from HLG, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.