- Date
- June 10, 2007, 17:15 local (Jun 11, 2007, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Esparto, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5641HPiper PA-16
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 30, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070610009579A
- Case key
- 65948
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 misjudgment of altitude resulting in an undershoot. Factors included the berm and the wind gusts.
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 that at the south end of his private airstrip was a tomato field with an irrigation ditch that rises about 8 to 10 inches above the flat ground, and that while trying to land to the north in "mildly gusty conditions" (8 to 10 miles per hour variable out of the west-northwest) he clipped a berm. The pilot revealed that the impact "snapped off" the left landing gear as the airplane continued onto the runway and settled on the left wing and firewall. The pilot stated that he should have landed a little longer. No mechanical failures or malfunctions were reported.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that at the south end of his private airstrip was a tomato field with an irrigation ditch that rises about 8 to 10 inches above the flat ground, and that while trying to land to the north in "mildly gusty conditions" (8 to 10 miles per hour variable out of the west-northwest) he clipped a berm. The pilot revealed that the impact "snapped off" the left landing gear as the airplane continued onto the runway and settled on the left wing and firewall. The pilot stated that he should have landed a little longer. No mechanical failures or malfunctions were reported.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5641H
- Reported as
- Piper PA-16
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 16-252
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jonathan V. Robbins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MCC · McCellan, CA
- Destination
- Esparto, CA
- Airport
- NONE · Private Airstrip, runway 36, 1,800 × 40 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
- 55
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 980 total · 300 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 8 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.