# NTSB LAX00LA184: McCoy Glasair III, N1ML, Burbank, CA, May 7, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 7, 2000, 13:07 local (20:07 UTC) - Place: Burbank, CA - Location: 34.2007° N, 118.3587° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at HOLLYWOOD BURBANK (BUR), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2007&lon=-118.3587&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 14, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 49150 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX00LA184 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/49150/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA184 ## Probable cause The failure of the pilot to maintain a proper glidepath, which resulted in a collision with a power pole and damage to the landing gear. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - object - utility pole - proper glidepath - not obtained/maintained, pilot in command (cause) - landing gear,wheel - separation - Other gear collapsed, landing - roll - landing gear - fractured - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - airport sign/marker (contributing factor) - directional control - not possible, pilot in command ## Analysis The purpose of the flight was to practice takeoff's and landings at a nearby airport. According to the pilot, while on final approach, the airplane experienced a downdraft and lost about 75 feet in altitude. The pilot initiated a go-around, but was unable to arrest the descent. The airplane's right main landing gear struck a telephone pole and was sheared off. The pilot requested to make an emergency landing at the accident airport due to the availability of ARFF equipment. After landing, the remaining landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway and struck a taxiway sign with the right wing. Review of the aviation surface observations for the hour before and after the accident revealed winds out of the west at 7 knots. No unusual meteorological conditions were reported. ## Factual narrative On May 7, 2000, at 1307 hours Pacific daylight time, an amateur built McCoy Glasair III airplane, N1ML, veered off the runway and collided with a taxiway sign on the landing rollout at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, Burbank, California. The airplane, owned and operated by the commercial pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The personal, local area flight, originated from the Whiteman, California, airport at 1245. The commercial pilot, sole occupant, was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported that he was practicing touch-and-go landings on runway 12 at Whiteman. On final approach, he experienced a downdraft and the airplane dropped approximately 75 feet. He added power to initiate a go-around, but was unable to gain altitude. The pilot heard a "thud" and realized that the right main landing gear had struck a telephone pole and had separated from the airplane. He performed a low approach by the Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and they confirmed that his right landing gear was missing. He then requested to make an emergency landing at the Burbank Airport (approximately 5 miles southeast) due to the availability of ARFF personnel. After performing a low approach, for Burbank ATCT to observe the damage, the pilot was cleared to land on runway 15. On the landing roll the remaining landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway, striking a taxiway sign with the right wing. Review of the aviation surface observations for the hour before and after the accident revealed winds out of the west at 7 knots. No unusual meteorological conditions were reported. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1ML](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1ML), registered now, S/N 3086, built 1993 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: McCoy GLASAIR III (GLASAIR II) - Registry model: [Mccoy Paul GLASAIR III](https://openairdocs.org/model/mccoy-paul-glasair-iii) (registry code 056559C) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540-K1G5](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-k1g5) (registry code 41674, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 3086 - Airframe hours: 360 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: G. Kelly Sievers - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 24, 2000, 335 hours before - Departed: WHP, WHITEMAN, CA - Airport: BUR, Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena, runway 15, 6,886 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 66; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 6,837 total, 80 in this make and model, 5,977 as pilot in command, 49 in the last 90 days, 26 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 200° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 158 °F, dew point 122 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: BUR ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000507004359A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000507004359A), May 7, 2000: Amtr GLASAIRIII, Burbank, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Aircraft collided with a telephone pole in approach to whiteman airpark, the continued flight to Burbank (bur) airport where he landed and collided with… 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. --- 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.