# NTSB LAX04CA212: Beech A60, N931RP, Gualala, CA, May 15, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: May 15, 2004, 11:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Gualala, CA - Coordinates: 38.801387, -123.530281 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.8014&lon=-123.5303&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 29, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59229 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04CA212 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59229/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA212 ## Probable cause the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning which resulted in a downwind landing. The tailwind was a contributing factor and an overrun of the runway. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Overrun, landing - roll - weather condition - tailwind - wrong runway - selected, pilot in command (cause) - airspeed - excessive, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - drop-off/descending embankment ## Analysis The airplane overran the runway and collapsed the landing gear during the landing roll. The pilot reported landing a "bit too fast" with a tailwind. The airport manager reported observed tire skid marks from the displaced threshold down the entire length of the 2,500-foot runway. The airplane departed the end of the runway and came to rest down an embankment. The closest weather reporting facility (located 24 miles northeast of the accident site) depicted gusty winds out of the northwest. The pilot was landing to the southeast. ## Factual narrative On May 15, 2004, at 1130 Pacific daylight time, a Beech A60, N931RP, impacted terrain after over running the end of runway 13 at the Ocean Ridge Airport, Gualala, California. The pilot was operating the airplane; Aero Technology, Inc., of Long Beach, California, was the registered owner. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated from Long Beach at 0900, and was destined for Gualala. During a telephone interview conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), the airport manager reported finding the airplane off the end of runway 13. The airport manager observed tire skid marks from the runway's displaced threshold (approximately 300 feet down the runway) to the end of the 2,500-foot runway. The airplane came to rest down an embankment located south of the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the landing gear and the wings. During a telephone interview conducted by the IIC, the pilot reported coming in for landing a "bit too fast" with a tailwind for landing. In the pilot's written statement he indicated that he checked the windsock prior to landing and observed it to be "90 degrees to runway 13." During the landing roll, he could not stop the airplane prior to the end of the runway. The airplane rolled off the runway, and down a bank into soft dirt, where the landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane prior to the accident. At 1856, the weather observation facility located in Ukiah, California (approximately 24 miles north-northeast of Gualala), reported the wind from 290 degrees at 9 knots with gusts to 15 knots. The weather report also indicated that the wind was variable between 260 degrees and 360 degrees. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N931RP](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N931RP-2006-02-02), registration cancelled 2006-02-02, S/N P169, built 1971 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech A60 - Registry model: [Beech A60](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-a60) (registry code 1153604) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming TI0-541 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-541-series) (registry code 41536, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: P169 - Airframe hours: 2628 - Engines: Lycoming TIO-540 385 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Richard L. Probert, doing business as Aero Technology Inc. - Registered owner: Aero Technology Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 10, 2003, 97 hours before - Departed: LGB, Long Beach, CA - Destination: Q69, Gualala, CA - Airport: Q69, Ocean Ridge, runway 13, 2,500 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review January 17, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 1,978 total, 141 in this make and model, 1,584 as pilot in command, 25 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 9 knots, gusting 15 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: UKI, 24 nm away ## 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 20040515014999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040515014999A), May 15, 2004: Beech A60, Gualala, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Acft, landed opposite direction at Ocean Ridge Airport, Gualala, CA on runway 14, acft was unable to stop and ran off the runway at approx. 1130 PDT. MLG… 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.