- Date
- June 13, 2011, 18:25 local (Jun 14, 2011, 01:25 UTC)
- Place
- Buttonwillow, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5286Grumman G-164A
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 19, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20110613010709A
- Case key
- 80752
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 the landing approach and subsequent long landing and overrun of the runway resulting in a collision with ground obstacles. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's likely fatigue and dehydration.
Findings · 4
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 stated that on the day of the accident, he had conducted numerous landings on the accident airstrip and the brakes where "a little worn out," but had operated well enough to allow stopping on the runway. The pilot further stated that he was fatigued and dehydrated after flying for nearly 8 hours. On the accident landing, the pilot reported that he was slightly fast on the approach with a tailwind of approximately 5-10 knots. Upon touchdown he was unable to stop the airplane before the end of the runway and exited the right side. After the airplane exited the runway, its right wing struck a dumpster. The initial impact with the dumpster caused the airplane to spin into a second dumpster with which the airplane came to rest against.
Factual narrative
On June 13, 2011, about 1825 pacific daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, N5286 sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway and collided with two dumpsters at a private airstrip in Buttonwillow, California. The airplane was registered to Slikker Flying Service, Inc., and operated by Vince Dusters under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The commercial pilot was not injured. The flight originated from a private field in Buttonwillow, California at 1000. The airplane maintenance records indicated that the airplane's last annual inspection was performed on December 1, 2010 and the log books were annotated that the airplane was airworthy. The airplane was not flown after the annual inspection until a day before the accident when the company owner test flew the airplane and reported that the airplane was airworthy and the brakes were operating normally. The pilot stated that on the day of the accident he had conducted numerous landings on the accident airstrip and the brakes where "a little worn out," but had operated well enough to allow stopping on the runway. The pilot further stated that he was fatigued and dehydrated after flying for nearly 8 hours. On the accident landing the pilot reported that he was slightly fast on the approach with a tailwind of approximately 5-10 knots. Upon touchdown he was unable to stop the airplane before the end of the runway and exited the right side. After the airplane exited the runway the airplane's right wing struck a dumpster. The initial impact with the dumpster caused the airplane to spin into a second dumpster with which the airplane came to rest against. Immediately after the accident the owner/operator checked the brakes and found them to be operating normally. Three days after the accident, an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noted that the right brake would not hold pressure and was leaking brake fluid from the right master cylinder. The left brake would hold pressure after about 8 pumps, but was leaking brake fluid from the b-nut at the hard line to the flex line at the caliper. The continuity of the brake system was not checked at that time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5286
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 562
- Airframe hours
- 13,921
- Engine
- P&W R 1340 AN-1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Vince Dusters, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Slikker Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 2010 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Buttonwillow, CA
- Destination
- PVT · Buttonwillow, CA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- PVT · Vince Dusters Private Strip, runway 16, 2,640 × 20 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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- February 25, 2011
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 2,400 total · 310 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 284° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KBFL, 20 nm away
Docket · 10
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 1, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 MB 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.
Other investigations on N5286 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.