# NTSB LAX02LA122: Piper PA-22-160, N8158D, Vacaville, CA, March 30, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 30, 2002, 15:37 local (23:37 UTC) - Place: Vacaville, CA - Coordinates: 38.376667, -122.962501 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.3767&lon=-122.9625&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 54447 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX02LA122 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54447/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54447 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA122 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - not corrected, pilot in command - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The airplane nosed over after veering off the runway during landing. The pilot said the airplane is a conversion to the PA-22/20 conventional landing gear arrangement. He had just picked up the airplane after having it in the shop for the last couple of months for repair. He was landing on runway 20 with winds he described as from 100 degrees at 6 knots. After touchdown, he experienced directional control problems with the airplane first veering left and then right, and finally departing off the right side of the runway. The airplane was traveling at a slow speed and he applied both brakes to stop. The airplane then nosed over very slowly, damaging the vertical stabilizer. He stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. The pilot reported that his total time was 140 hours, with about 60 in the accident aircraft. Prior to departing from Medford, he obtained some dual instruction to review landing techniques in conventional gear airplanes. The official Vacaville aviation METAR at both 1453 and 1553 was reporting variable wind conditions at 3 to 4 knots. ## Factual narrative On March 30, 2002, at 1537 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-22-160, N8158D, nosed over after veering off the runway during landing at the Vacaville, California, airport. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and sustained substantial damage. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country personal flight that originated at the Beagle Sky Ranch Airport in Medford, Oregon, with a destination of Vacaville. In a telephone interview, the pilot said the airplane is a conversion to the PA-22/20 conventional landing gear arrangement. He had just picked up the airplane after having it in the shop for the last couple of months for repair. He was landing on runway 20 with winds he described as from 100 degrees at 6 knots. After touchdown, he experienced directional control problems with the airplane first veering left and then right, and finally departing off the right side of the runway. The airplane was traveling at a slow speed and he applied both brakes to stop. The airplane then nosed over very slowly, damaging the vertical stabilizer. He stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. The pilot reported that his total time was 140 hours, with about 60 in the accident aircraft. Prior to departing from Medford, he obtained some dual instruction to review landing techniques in conventional gear airplanes. The official Vacaville aviation METAR at both 1453 and 1553 was reporting variable wind conditions at 3 to 4 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8158D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8158D), registered now, S/N 22-5649, built 1957 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-22-160 - Registry model: [Piper PA-22-160](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-22-160) (registry code 7102214) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 22-5649 - Airframe hours: 1611 - Engines: Lycoming O-320B 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Gordon R. Erhart - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, February 3, 2002, 5 hours before - Departed: OR96, MEDFORD, OR - Destination: VCB, Vacaville, CA - Airport: VCB, Nut Tree, runway 20, 3,800 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 50; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review March 25, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 140 total, 60 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: VCB ## Other investigations on N8158D (2) 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 LAX05CA019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05CA019), Oct 30, 2004: Piper PA-22-160 (N8158D), Vacaville, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout. - [NTSB SEA01LA132](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA01LA132), Jul 14, 2001: Piper PA-22-160 (N8158D), Friday Harbor, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 19, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54447. 551 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 387 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40395523&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Summary of Telephone Interview (item 2, .PDF, 36 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40157953&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Summary%20of%20Telephone%20Interview-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 3, .PDF, 128 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40157956&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF 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.