- Date
- August 21, 2010, 15:07 local (22:07 UTC)
- Place
- Turlock, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N948DWWilde Daniel L Zenith 701
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 16, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100821042169A
- Case key
- 77032
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 and failure to maintain runway alignment.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, while the airplane was on final approach, he realized it was not centered on the runway and decided to execute a go-around. The second approach was normal. During the landing flare, the airplane floated longer than usual and drifted towards the right side of the runway in crosswind conditions. As the airplane touched down, the right main wheel encountered a trench and continued to traverse up a berm. Upon reaching the top of the berm, the airplane slid sideways until it came to a rest. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions. The nearest weather reporting station located 12 miles southeast of the accident airport reported at the time of the accident wind was from 330 degrees at 9 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after a cross country flight, while on final approach he realized the airplane was not centered on the runway and he executed a go around. The second approach was normal; during the landing flare the airplane “floated longer than usual” and drifted towards the right side of the runway. As the airplane touched down, the right main wheel fell into a trench and continued to traverse up a berm. Upon reaching the top, the airplane slid sideways along the berm until it came to a rest, substantially damaging the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions prior to the accident. The nearest weather reporting station located 12 miles southeast of the accident airport reported at the time of the accident wind was from 330 degrees at 9 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N948DW
- Reported as
- Wilde Daniel L Zenith 701
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 701DW-1
- Airframe hours
- 127
- Engine
- Rotax 912S, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wilde Daniel L
- Registered owner
- Wilde Daniel L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 4, 2009 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- ISN · Los Banos, CA
- Destination
- N/A · Turlock, CA
- Airport
- N/A · Personal Airstrip, runway 36, 900 × 20 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- December 29, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 127 in this make and model · 700 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.82 inHg
- Observed at
- KMOD, 12 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 6, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 582 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.