- Date
- December 5, 1995, 12:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Pahala, HI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N88899Emroth Emair MA-1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 21, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951205040009A
- Case key
- 29348
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 failure of the pilot to adequately compensate for wind conditions, and to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing.
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 indicated the wind shifted during landing and he lost directional control. The airplane drifted off the airstrip during the landing roll and rolled down an embankment. The left main landing gear then broke and the airplane nosed over. The airstrip is about 1,965 feet long and 40 feet wide. There were no mechanical failures or malfunctions reported with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On December 5, 1995, at 1230 hours Hawaiian standard time, an Emroth Emair MA-1B, N88899, collided with the terrain while landing at the Upper Paauau Airstrip (HI29), Pahala, Hawaii. The airplane was substantially damaged and the certificated commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by Murray Air, LTD, Honolulu, Hawaii, as an aerial application flight under 14 CFR Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot indicated the wind shifted during landing and he lost directional control. The airplane drifted off the airstrip during the landing roll and rolled down an embankment. The left main landing gear then broke and the airplane nosed over.
The pilot also indicated the orientation of the runway during the landing was about 060 degrees. The airstrip is about 1,965 feet long and 40 feet wide. The elevation of the airstrip is listed at 2,600 feet above mean sea level.
The pilot indicated there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88899
- Reported as
- Emroth Emair MA-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 041
- Airframe hours
- 7,550
- Engine
- Wright R-1820-99, 1,200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Murray Air, Ltd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 5, 1995 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- HI29
- Airport
- HI29 · Upper Paauau Airstrip
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
- 70
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 28,115 total · 10,000 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,600 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ITO, 39 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.