- Date
- July 7, 2001, 13:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- San Diego, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N122MSSparks KR-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 28, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20010707015559A
- Case key
- 52648
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot, who was the original owner and builder of this aircraft, stated that while he was decelerating during his landing rollout, he encountered a gust of wind from the left, which caused the airplane to become airborne again with the left wing high. He added power and avoided a stall, but had drifted off the runway. The left main landing gear hit a runway light, causing the airplane to ground loop, which damaged the outboard 2 feet of the left wing. The pilot stated that he would repair the wing and fly the airplane again. He stated that the damage was easy to repair and woud take only a few days to complete. According to the pilot, he had approximately 2,000 hours of flight time, 700 of which was in the accident airplane. He had logged 50 hours in this airplane within the last 90 days. When asked how he could prevent this accident from happening in the future, he stated "Don't go flying."
Factual narrative
On Saturday, July 7, 2001, at 1310 hours Pacific daylight time, a Sparks KR-2, N122MS, was substantially damaged when it struck a runway light at Gillespie Field, San Diego, California. The private pilot, who was the only occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was conducted by the owner under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane departed Brown Field, San Diego, at 1250 for the flight to Gillespie Field, where the accident occurred. No flight plan was filed.
The pilot, who was the original owner and builder of this aircraft, was interviewed by an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board shortly after the accident. He stated that while he was decelerating during his landing rollout, he encountered a gust of wind from the left, which caused the airplane to become airborne again with the left wing high. He added power and avoided a stall, but had drifted off the runway. The left main landing gear hit a runway light, causing the airplane to ground loop, which damaged the outboard 2 feet of the left wing when it contacted the ground. The pilot stated that he would repair the wing and fly the airplane again. He stated that the damage was easy to repair and would take only a few days to complete.
According to the pilot, he had approximately 2,000 hours of flight time, 700 of which was in the accident airplane. He had logged 50 hours in this airplane within the last 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N122MS
- Reported as
- Sparks KR-2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- MS-2
- Airframe hours
- 700
- Engine
- Volkswagen 1834, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Manuel Sparks
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2000 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- SDM · Montgomery, CA
- Destination
- SEE · Gillespie, CA
- Airport
- SEE · Gillespie Field, runway 27L, 2,737 × 60 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 2, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 700 in this make and model · 50 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 18,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 86 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KSEE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.