- Date
- March 1, 1998, 16:41 local (Mar 2, 1998, 00:41 UTC)
- Place
- Madera, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N546SHSweet-House RD Mustang 2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980301002239A
- Case key
- 30039
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 maintain adequate airspeed during the approach, which resulted in a stall. An additional cause was the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the attempted go around. A factor in this accident is the pilot's lack of total experience in aircraft type.
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 reported that he was on approach to runway 30. As he initiated the flare, he felt the airplane bleed off airspeed quicker than anticipated and realized that 'the aircraft was quickly starting to stall.' The pilot stated that he knew that he was too high and applied power to arrest the stall but the left wing dropped and seemed to start flying again when power was applied. The pilot then attempted to abort the landing and execute a go-around but the aircraft veered to the left off the runway. The left wingtip contacted the ground, followed by the engine and right wing. The right wing broke off at the wing splice point and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident he had logged only 1 hour in this type of aircraft.
Factual narrative
On March 1, 1998, at 1641 hours Pacific standard time, a Sweet-House RD Mustang 2, N546SH, collided with terrain short of the runway 30 at the Madera, California, airport while attempting to land. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the pilot/owner, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local personal flight began at 1600 and was terminating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that he was on approach to runway 30. As he initiated the flare, he felt "the airplane bleed off airspeed quicker than anticipated," and realized that "the aircraft was quickly starting to stall." The pilot reported that he "knew that [he] was too high and applied power to arrest the stall [but] the left wing dropped [and] seemed to start flying again when power was applied." The pilot further reported that he then attempted to abort the landing and execute a go-around but the aircraft veered to the left off the runway. The left wingtip impacted the ground and the pilot reported that he then "had no control over the aircraft." The propeller and engine then impacted the ground and the right wing broke off at the wing splice point. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted.
The pilot reported that at the time of the accident he had logged only 1 hour in this type of aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N546SH
- Reported as
- Sweet-House RD Mustang 2 (RD MUSTANG)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- M-11-546
- Airframe hours
- 1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ronald Gene House
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 27, 1998 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- MAE
- Airport
- MAE · Madera Municipal, runway 30, 4,544 × 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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 520 total · 1 in this make and model · 450 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.