- Date
- July 26, 1995, 17:30 local (Jul 27, 1995, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Madera, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N38062Beech 77
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950726019719A
- Case key
- 29165
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 student pilot's improper compensation for the wind condition and improper use of the rudder. The whirlwind was a factor in this accident.
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 student pilot executed a touch-and-go landing at the airport after completing a solo cross-country flight. The student said that on the second landing the airplane encountered a stong gust of wind that turned the airplane 45-degrees to the right. He said that he applied excessive left rudder and the airplane began skidding down the runway. The nose gear collapsed when the airplane exited the runway and struck a plowed furrow. A 30-degree crosswind at 6 knots existed.
Factual narrative
On July 26, 1995, at 1730 hours Pacific daylight time, a Beech BE-77, N38062, encountered a whirlwind and ground looped while landing on runway 30 at Madera Municipal Airport, Madera, California. The airplane exited the runway and its nose gear collapsed when it struck a furrow next to the runway. The student pilot was conducting a local visual flight rules solo instructional flight and was not injured. The airplane, registered to and operated by the student pilot's flight instructor, sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Fresno Air Terminal, Fresno, California, at 1630 hours.
The student pilot said in the aircraft accident report that the accident occurred on the second landing. When the main landing gear touched down, a gust of wind turned the airplane 45-degrees to the right. The student pilot said he applied left rudder, but overcorrected. The airplane began skidding down the runway and exited the runway.
At the time of the accident, the surface winds were from 270-degrees at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N38062
- Reported as
- Beech 77
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 204
- Airframe hours
- 2,937
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John M. Alves
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 1995 · 66 hours before
- Departed
- FAT · Fresno, CA
- Destination
- MAE
- Airport
- MAE · Madera, runway 30, 4,500 × 150 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
- 50
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 54 total · 54 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.