# Accident 20010909026089A: Cessna P206B, Willits, CA, September 9, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 9, 2001, 14:10 local time
- Place: Willits, CA
- Airport: Ells Field Willits Municipal Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.4514° N, 123.3722° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4514&lon=-123.3722&mi=10
- Aircraft: N146A, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N146A-2002-02-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna P206B (registry code 2073309, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-p206b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA P206B
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA303](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA303) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010909026089A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2001, ABOUT 1410 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA P206B, N146A, OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING AN ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND AT WILLITS, CALIFORNIA. THE PRIVATE RATED PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE STUDENT RATED PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT WAS OPERATING UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA, ABOUT 1305, AND WAS DESTINED FOR WILLITS. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE LANDED ON RUNWAY 34, THEN INITIATED A GO-AROUND. THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN TO ACHIEVE A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE AND DRIFT FROM THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE TO THE RIGHT. THE CRASH OCCURRED 1,800 FEET FROM THE BEGINNING OF RUNWAY 34 AND 360 FEET TO THE RIGHT. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED ABOUT 25 DEGREES OF WING FLAPS AND ABOUT 1.25 INCHES OF ELEVATOR TRIM TAB DOWN SETTING. ACCORDING TO CESSNA AIRCRAFT, MAXIMUM TRIM DEFLECTION IS 1.35 INCHES. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2001, AT APPROXIMATELY 1400 THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON APPROACH TO RUNWAY 34 AT ELLS-WILLITS AIRPORT (028). THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN                         ABOUT 645 FT FROM THE APPROACH END OF THE RUNWAY. AFTER TOUCH DOWN THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED AND DRIFTED OVER A SMALL RIDGE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT POINTED WEST. WITNESSES STATED THAT THE PILOT ADDED POWER IN AN APPARENT ATTEMPT TO GO-AROUND. WITNESSES ALSO STATED THAT THE ENGINE SEEMED TO INCREASE IN POWER NORMALLY; HOWEVER, THEY THEN OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT CLIMB AT A STEEP ANGLE. THE RIGHT WING DROPPED AND THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED TREES ABOUT 360 FEET EAST OF THE RUNWAY WHILE IN AN APPROX. 90 DEGREE RIGHT WING DOWN ATTITUDE. THE RIGHT WING WAS TORN OFF BY THE TREES AND THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO DESCEND TO TERRAIN BEYOND THE STAND OF TREES. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST UPSIDE DOWN ABOUT 500 FEET FROM THE RUNWAY. THE FLAPS WERE EXTENDED 22 DEGREES (ACTUATOR EXTENDED 4.25") AND THE ELEVATOR TRIM WAS FULL NOSE UP (ACTUATOR EXTENDED 1.25"). THE PILOT DIED AT THE SCENE, THE REST WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL.

## 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 LAX01LA303](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA303), Sep 9, 2001: Cessna P206B (N146A), Willits, CA, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the failure of the pilot to reset the elevator trim tab during the go-around, which resulted in his failure to maintain airspeed and an inadvertent stall.

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.

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