- Date
- April 17, 2007, 15:50 local (22:50 UTC)
- Place
- Concord, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3115UMaule MT-7-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 27, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070417013299A
- Case key
- 65587
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 failure to maintain directional control during landing, resulting in a ground loop/swerve and collapse of the nose landing gear. A contributing factor was the gusty wind condition.
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 the tower informed him the winds were from 250 degrees at 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. He aborted his first approach to runway 19R. On the second approach, he had "good rudder and aileron control at the 80 mph approach speed." At approximately 40 feet above ground level (agl), he encountered "a strong wind shear" and the airplane dropped to an altitude of 10 feet agl. The pilot added power and landed the airplane on the runway. At that time, a "very strong gust of wind" lifted the right wing and pushed the airplane towards the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to regain control, however, he was not successful, and the airplane continued to the left "into a ground loop off of the runway." The nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest nose down. The recorded winds at the airport near the time of the accident were from 260 degrees at 24 knots with gusts to 30 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the tower informed him the winds were from 250 degrees at 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. He aborted his first approach to runway 19R. On the second approach, he had "good rudder and aileron control at the 80 mph approach speed." At approximately 40 feet above ground level (agl), he encountered "a strong wind shear" and the airplane dropped to an altitude of 10 feet agl. The pilot added power and landed the airplane on the runway. At that time, a "very strong gust of wind" lifted the right wing and pushed the airplane towards the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to regain control, however, he was not successful, and the airplane continued to the left "into a ground loop off of the runway." The nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest nose down. The recorded winds at the airport near the time of the accident were from 260 degrees at 24 knots with gusts to 30 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3115U
- Reported as
- Maule MT-7-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18008C
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-W1A5, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- E16 · Morgan Hill, CA
- Destination
- CCR · Concord, CA
- Airport
- CCR · Buchanan Field, runway 19R, 5,001 × 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
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 142 total · 136 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 24 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- CCR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.