- Date
- September 12, 1998, 15:35 local (22:35 UTC)
- Place
- Taft, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N10AWWeber-Mustang II Diamond
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 3, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980912023709A
- Case key
- 43957
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 inadequate compensation for the crosswind condition and failure to maintain proper runway alignment during the takeoff roll.
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 during the takeoff roll on the south-facing runway, the aircraft drifted off to the left side of the runway. The left wingtip impacted the bushes and the aircraft swerved left into the brush off the runway. The landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that the winds at the time of the accident were from approximately 090 degrees at 7 knots. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunction with the aircraft prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On September 12, 1998, at 1535 hours Pacific daylight time, a Weber-Mustang II Diamond, N10AW, ground looped on takeoff at a private airstrip 5 miles east of the Taft-Kern County Airport, Taft, California. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot and passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured. The personal flight was originating at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot reported that he was taking off on the south-facing runway. During the takeoff roll, the aircraft drifted off to the left side of the runway. The left wingtip impacted the bushes and the aircraft swerved left into the brush off the runway. The landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that the winds at the time of the accident were from approximately 090 degrees at 7 knots. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunction with the aircraft prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10AW
- Reported as
- Weber-Mustang II Diamond
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 265
- Airframe hours
- 950
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael Van Pray Jr
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 2, 1998 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- L71 · California City, CA
- Airport
- Private Airstrip, runway 18, 2,400 × 30 ft, dirt
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 250 in this make and model · 4,200 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 52 °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.