- Date
- September 4, 1997, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Watsonville, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N84TXBingelis Falco F.8L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970904025269A
- Case key
- 29892
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 misjudgment of distance and speed on final approach, leading to a landing undershoot.
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 aircraft landed short of the runway in winds the pilot described as light and variable. According to the pilot, while on a stabilized final approach, 'indicated airspeed 80,' the 'aircraft settled directly to the ground.' He reported that the aircraft 'went flat down as though slammed in a subsiding air mass in a matter of seconds.' Also, he reported that the application of engine power did not arrest the descent. At the nearest weather reporting point, 19 miles southeast, the surface wind was 12 knots, and there was no convective weather in the area.
Factual narrative
On September 4, 1997, at 1400 hours Pacific daylight time, an experimental (amateur built) Bingelis Antoni Falco F.8L, N84TX, was substantially damaged when it landed short of runway 20 at the Watsonville, California, airport. The certificated airline transport pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight.
According to the pilot, while on a stabilized final approach, "indicated airspeed 80," the "aircraft settled directly to the ground." He reported that the aircraft "went flat down as though slammed in a subsiding air mass in a matter of seconds." He reported that the wind was light and variable and that the application of engine power did not arrest the descent.
At Salinas, California, 19 miles southeast, the surface wind was from 310 degrees at 12 knots and there was no convective weather in the area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N84TX
- Reported as
- Bingelis Falco F.8L
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 506
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Adrianne Graham
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 1997 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- WVI
- Airport
- WVI · Watsonville Municipal, runway 20, 4,501 × 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
- 69
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,500 total · 30 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SNS, 19 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.