- Date
- June 28, 1987, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Auberry, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2856HPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 2, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870628027429A
- Case key
- 25622
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During an approach into a private airstrip, the student pilot touched-down, then decided that there was not enough stopping distance and elected to go-around. On the initial climb-out the aircraft struck an object that made the aircraft yaw right then left. The pilot never saw what the aircraft hit. At cruise alt the pilot checked the flight controls which appeared to be ok. The pilot continued the flight back to his original departure point where, after landing, the damage was discovered the pilot stated that he thought the airstrip he had planned to land at was 3800 feet long. The airstrip, in fact, is 2000 feet long.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2856H
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 287916482
- Airframe hours
- 2,132
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Navajo Aviation
- Registered owner
- Eberhard, Ronald D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 10, 1987 · 73 hours before
- Departed
- New Auberry, CA
- Destination
- CCR · Concord, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- Topham Auberry, runway 16, 2,000 × 50 ft, gravel
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 65 total · 56 in this make and model · 16 as pilot in command · 48 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.