# Accident 19970904025269A: Aermer FALCOF8L, Watsonville, CA, September 4, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 4, 1997, 14:00 local time
- Place: Watsonville, CA
- Airport: Watsonville Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.9498° N, 121.7208° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.9498&lon=-121.7208&mi=10
- Aircraft: N84TX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N84TX-2002-01-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bingelis Antoni FALCO F.8L (registry code 0566060, https://openairdocs.org/model/bingelis-antoni-falco-f-8l) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-320 series (registry code 41509, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AERMER FALCOF8L
- Reported engine: LYC IO320B1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,500 total, 30 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX97LA310](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97LA310) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970904025269A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON SEPTEMBER 4, 1997, AT 1400 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL (AMATEUR BUILT) BINGELIS ANTONI FALCO F.8L, N84TX, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT LANDED SHORT OF RUNWAY 20 AT THE WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. THE CERTIFICATED AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, WHILE ON A STABILIZED FINAL APPROACH, INDICATED AIRSPEED 80 THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED DIRECTLY TO THE GROUND. HE REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WENT FLAT DOWN AS THOUGH SLAMMED IN A SUBSIDING AIR MASS IN A MATTER OF SECONDS. HE REPORTED THAT THE WIND WAS LIGHT AND VARIABLE AND THAT THE APPLICATION OF ENGINE POWER DID NOT ARREST THE DESCENT. AT SALINAS, CALIFORNIA, 19 MILES SOUTHEAST, THE SURFACCE WIND WAS FROM 310 DEGRESS AT 12 KNOTS AND THERE WAS NO CONVECTIVE WEATHER IN THE AREA.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX97LA310](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97LA310), Sep 4, 1997: Bingelis Falco F.8L (N84TX), Watsonville, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's misjudgment of distance and speed on final approach, leading to a landing undershoot.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.