- Date
- July 1, 1996, 11:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Rio Linda, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3229FMooney M20E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960701015669A
- Case key
- 29492
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 failure to attain/maintain the proper approach airspeed, his failure to attain the proper runway touchdown point, and his failure to initiate a go-around when a landing overshoot became apparent. A factor in the accident was the airport management's failure to ensure that the overrun area was clear of potential fire hazards.
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 stated that the winds were calm when he crossed the threshold 'a little high and 10 knots fast' on the 2,620-foot-long runway 17. The pilot said, 'I was able to get the wheels on the ground before midfield, but I bounced the airplane and had a very hard time getting it back on the runway.' The pilot was unable to stop the aircraft prior to running off the departure end about 5 mph. The aircraft traveled about 15 feet into an area of tall dried grass. As the pilot shut down the engine he noticed a fire behind the aircraft's wing and evacuated the aircraft. By the time the pilot could get to a phone, telephone for help, and the local fire department responded, the aircraft was engulfed in flames and eventually consumed by the ground fire.
Factual narrative
On July 1, 1996, at 1145 hours Pacific daylight time, a Mooney M20E, N3229F, was destroyed by ground fire when the aircraft rolled off the end of the runway at the Rio Linda, California, airport and the exhaust ignited dried grass. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was completing a personal cross-country flight from Palo Alto, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed in the ground fire along with an undetermined amount of grass land and trees. The certificated private pilot and his one passenger were not injured. The flight originated in Palo Alto at 1100 on the day of the accident.
The pilot stated that the winds were calm when he crossed the threshold "a little high and 10 knots fast" on the 2,620-foot-long runway 17. The pilot said, "I was able to get the wheels on the ground before midfield, but I bounced the airplane and had a very hard time getting it back on the runway." The pilot was unable to stop the aircraft prior to running off the departure end about 5 mph. The aircraft traveled about 15 feet into an area of tall dried grass. As the pilot shut down the engine he noticed a fire behind the aircraft's wing and evacuated the aircraft. By the time the pilot could get to a phone, telephone for help, and the local fire department responded, the aircraft was engulfed in flames and eventually consumed by the ground fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3229F
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 67-0022
- Airframe hours
- 3,760
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hamid A. Wasti
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 5, 1995 · 159 hours before
- Departed
- PAO · Palo Alto, CA
- Destination
- Q94
- Airport
- Q94 · Rio Linda, runway 17, 2,620 × 42 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 569 total · 391 in this make and model · 492 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °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.