LAX06LA210

During the landing rollout the airplane veered off the runway and collided with two ditches. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane's braking or steering system. An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the accident area and noted two skid marks on the runway that were about 100 yards in length. The skid marks then departed the runway surface and onto a grassy area where he noted three skid marks similar in dimension to the airplane's landing gear.

On June 20, 2006, about 1740 Pacific daylight time, a Beech A36, N100VH, veered off the runway and collided with ditches during the landing rollout from runway 26 at Sonoma Valley Airport (0Q3), Schellville/Sonoma, California. The owner/pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot, a passenger, and a dog were not injured. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight that departed Long Beach Airport/Daugherty Field (LGB), Long Beach, California, about 1415.

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) reported the accident to the National Transportation Safety Board at 2315, after responding to a report of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) activation at 0Q3. They traced the ELT signal to N100VH, which had been placed underneath a tarp, and noted that a bucket had been placed underneath the front of the airplane to hold the nose up, and the propeller had been bent aft.

The Safety Board investigator interviewed the pilot. The pilot reported that during the landing rollout, the airplane skidded down the runway until it departed the runway surface and went into the grass. The airplane collided with an irrigation ditch, and came to stop after impacting a second ditch. During the accident sequence the nose landing gear collapsed and a propeller strike occurred. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures noted with the airplane's braking system.

The accident area was inspected by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector who stated that there were two skid marks on the runway from the main landing gear that traveled about 100 yards before the airplane departed the runway surface onto the grass. He noted at that point there was three tire skid marks on the ground, which he followed to the first ditch. The FAA inspector reported that the nose landing gear collapsed after impacting the first ditch. The airplane continued past the ditch and came to rest upright after impacting a second ditch.