- Date
- July 6, 2006, 19:30 local (Jul 7, 2006, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Groveland, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N157STBarnard RV-6
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20060706013329A
- Case key
- 64064
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 misjudged flare by the pilot that resulted in a hard bounced landing, and his failure to maintain directional control during the attempted recovery.
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 veered off the runway during a bounced landing recovery, went through an airport perimeter fence, and collided with trees in a residential backyard. The pilot reported that he miscalculated the landing flare. The airplane landed hard and bounced into the air. The pilot added full power to abort the landing, but did not compensate for the p-factor. The airplane turned to the left, impacted the runway, traversed through the airport perimeter fence, and down an embankment where it came to rest in a residential backyard between trees. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
On July 6, 2006, at 1930 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Barnard RV-6, N157ST, veered off runway 9 during a bounced landing recovery and impacted trees at Pine Mountain Lake, Groveland, California. The owner/pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, as a cross-country flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot and one passenger were not injured, and there were no ground injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed San Carlos Airport, San Carlos, California, at 1845.
According to the pilot's written statement, he made a straight-in approach for runway 9 and miscalculated the flare. The airplane landed hard and bounced into the air. He added full power in an attempt to abort the landing; however, the airplane rolled to the left due to "P-factor torque." The airplane impacted the taxiway, slid down an embankment, and came to rest between two small trees.
A deputy from Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department reported that the airplane came to rest 50 yards from the runway against a tree in the backyard of a residence. He located a skid mark on the taxiway surface, and noted that a portion of the airport perimeter fence had separated and was in the wreckage path.
A pilot/witness who was airborne at the time reported that after the airplane touched down on the runway the right wing lifted into the air, which turned the airplane 90 degrees to the left. The airplane departed the runway, went through the airport perimeter fence, and hit a tree.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N157ST
- Reported as
- Barnard RV-6
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 20075
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald Oler
- Registered owner
- Grindstaff Pamela J
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- SQL · San Carlos, CA
- Destination
- E45 · Groveland, CA
- Airport
- E45 · Pine Mountain Lake, runway 9, 3,625 × 50 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 1,798 total · 390 in this make and model · 1,798 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.