- Date
- May 20, 1999, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Alderpoint, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N51096Cessna 150J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990520005489A
- Case key
- 46374
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 existing turbulent, gusty wind conditions during the approach. Contributing factors were the pilot's delayed go-around maneuver, the gusty and turbulent winds, and the tree.
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 the weather was clear, but the winds were blustery and he estimated they were gusting erratically from the northwest between 20 and 25 knots. He said he experienced moderate to severe turbulence during the approach to the private grass strip, which was about 1,700 feet in length. He said he was aligned on final for the northerly-headed runway and maintaining 55 to 60 miles per hour. He touched down on the runway, and then a gust lifted him back into the air. As the aircraft started to float, he decided to execute a go-around. He applied takeoff power, but the aircraft contacted a tree that was 30 feet tall at the north end of the runway. The aircraft turned to the left, collided with a power line, the ground, and then skidded 75 feet before hitting a ranch bunkhouse.
Factual narrative
On May 20, 1999, about 1600 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150J, N51096, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees during a go-around at a private airstrip near Alderpoint, California. The commercial pilot/owner, the sole occupant, was not injured. He operated the aircraft under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The personal flight originated in Half Moon Bay, California, at 1400. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot stated the weather was clear, but the winds were blustery and he estimated they were gusting erratically from the northwest between 20 and 25 knots. He said he experienced moderate to severe turbulence during the approach to the private grass strip, which was about 1,700 feet in length. He said he was aligned on final for the northerly-headed runway and maintaining 55 to 60 miles per hour. He touched down on the runway, and then a gust lifted him back into the air. As the aircraft started to float, he decided to execute a go-around. He applied takeoff power, but the aircraft contacted a tree that was 30 feet tall at the north end of the runway. The aircraft turned to the left, collided with a power line, the ground, and then skidded 75 feet before hitting a ranch bunkhouse.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51096
- Reported as
- Cessna 150J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15069761
- Airframe hours
- 1,900
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael Klein
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 21, 1998 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- HAF · Half Moon Bay, CA
- Airport
- Fort Seward, runway 36, 1,700 × 50 ft, grass/turf
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
- 68
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,458 total · 500 in this make and model · 14 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ACV, 53 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.