- Date
- October 7, 2007, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Arroyo Grande, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9620ZAviat A-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20071007825259A
- Case key
- 66857
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 misjudged altitude and distance on the approach that led to an undershoot and inadequate obstacle clearance.
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 pilot was landing in a field owned by an acquaintance, and nearing touchdown, the main landing gear contacted the top of a wire fence and the left wing impacted a wooden fence post. When the airplane settled on the ground, both landing gears collapsed and the propeller impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest about 25 feet past the fence. The pilot said there were no preimapct mechanical malfunctions or failures.
Factual narrative
On October 7, 2007, about 1200 Pacific daylight time, an Aviat A-1 Husky, N9620Z, collided with a fence during landing at a private airstrip near Arroyo Grande, California. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The local personal fight departed Santa Maria Public Airport, Santa Maria, California, about 1124, with a planned destination of the airstrip in Arroyo Grande. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
In a written report to the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot stated that he intended on landing in a field owned by an acquaintance. At 5 feet above ground level, the main landing gear contacted the top of a wire fence and the left wing impacted a wooden fence post. When the airplane settled on the ground, both landing gears collapsed and the propeller impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest about 25 feet past the fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage including twisting damage to the fuselage frame. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9620Z
- Reported as
- Aviat A-1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1195
- Airframe hours
- 1,890
- Engine
- Textron Lycoming O-360-C1G, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2007
- Departed
- SMX · Santa Maria, CA
- Destination
- NONE · Arroyo Grande, CA
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
- 80
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2007
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,276 total · 1,890 in this make and model · 32 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- SBP, 13 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.