- Date
- March 30, 1998, 10:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Apple Valley, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6640TCessna 150A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 1, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980330008379A
- Case key
- 30062
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 selection of an unsuitable landing area.
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 had taken the aircraft flying to test the aircraft radio and when it did not work he returned to his private dirt airstrip. He said that after touchdown the nose gear sank in the soft soil, the nose gear strut collapsed, and the aircraft nosed over. An FAA inspector examined the airstrip and found that it is actually a firebreak road that is owned by a neighbor who allows the pilot to use it. The landing area is about 1,700 long by 10 feet wide and very soft. The FAA inspector further noted that 60-foot power lines that the pilot would have to maneuver over before landing obstructed the approach end of the runway.
Factual narrative
On March 30, 1998, at 1015 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 150A, N6640T, nosed over during landing at a private dirt strip near Apple Valley, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area personal flight. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and sustained substantial damage in the accident. The private pilot, the sole occupant, incurred minor injuries.
In the pilot's written statement, he reported that he had taken the aircraft flying to test the radio. When the radio did not work, he returned to land. The pilot recalled landing on the dirt strip, then waking up suspended from his seat belt in the inverted cockpit.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector from the Riverside, California, Flight Standards District Office, traveled to the strip and interviewed the pilot. The pilot stated that the landing strip behind his house is actually a fire break road that is owned by a neighbor who allows him to land his aircraft there. The pilot further said that after touchdown the nose gear sank in the soft soil, the nose gear strut collapsed, and the aircraft went inverted. He stated to the inspector that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft.
The FAA inspector reported that the portion of the road used as the landing area was 1,700 feet in length and less than 10 feet wide. Power lines 60 feet high are located at the approach end of the landing area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6640T
- Reported as
- Cessna 150A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15059040
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rex L. Gaunt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 21, 1997 · 4 hours before
- Airport
- Private Strip
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
- 75
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 200 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N6640T · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.