- Date
- October 25, 2003, 11:50 local (18:50 UTC)
- Place
- Petaluma, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7409KPiper PA-20
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20031025029499I
- Case key
- 58245
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
the pilot's inadequate compensation for a crosswind condition and failure to maintain directional control that resulted in a ground loop.
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 airplane ground looped during the landing roll. The pilot configured the airplane to land with full flaps and the engine running at idle. On the landing roll the airplane ground looped to the right and came to rest about 70 degrees from the runway heading. The left wing tip and propeller came into contact with the ground, and the left main landing gear collapsed. A light, quartering headwind existed, with winds from 170 degrees at 4 knots and gusting to 8 knots. The pilot said the airplane had no mechanical discrepancies.
Factual narrative
On October 25, 2003, about 1150 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA20, N7409K, ground looped during landing at Petaluma Municipal Airport (O69), Petaluma, California. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed Sonoma Skypark (0Q9), Sonoma, California, about 1130, en route to Petaluma Municipal. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported in a written statement that he entered the traffic pattern on the left downwind leg for runway 11 at a 45-degree angle. He configured the airplane to land with full flaps and the engine running at idle. On the landing roll the airplane ground looped to the right and came to rest about 70 degrees from the runway heading. The left wing tip and propeller came into contact with the ground, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that a light, quartering headwind existed, with winds from 170 degrees at 4 knots and gusting to 8 knots. He noted that the airplane had no mechanical discrepancies.
A routine aviation weather report (METAR) generated by an Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) at Napa County Airport (APC), Napa, California (located 15.5 nautical miles east from the accident site), indicated that about 4 minutes after the accident winds were variable at 5 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7409K
- Reported as
- Piper PA-20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20-318
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 Series, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David Jones
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 0Q9 · Sonoma Skypark, CA
- Destination
- O69 · Petaluma, CA
- Airport
- O69 · Petaluma Municipal, runway 11
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 437 total · 164 in this make and model · 12 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N7409K · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.