19790513010459A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Piper L4 · Smith River, CA · May 13, 1979

Date
May 13, 1979 · 16:00 local
Place
Smith River, CA
Airport
Ship-A-Shore
Phase of flight
Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N8358H
NTSB investigation
NTSBOAK79DVD26
Reported as
Piper L4
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
300 total100 in this make and model16 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot landed on what he thought to be one foot high grass. It turned out to be three feet high. Acft nosed over.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT LANDED ON WHAT HE THOUGHT TO BE ONE FOOT HIGH GRASS. IT TURNED OUT TO BE THREE FEET HIGH. ACFT NOSED OVER.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.