- Date
- September 5, 2012, 11:25 local (17:25 UTC)
- Place
- Eagle Mountain, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N795MCLake John K MA-5 Charger
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 5, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20120905019389A
- Case key
- 84941
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 airplane’s encounter with a large hole in the runway during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent runway excursion.
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
During a landing on a private dirt strip, the right main landing gear struck a large, hidden gopher hole, and the airplane veered to the right. Before the pilot could correct the excursion, the right wing struck sage brush along the edge of the runway, impacted a berm, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and to the left upper wing. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities that would have prevented normal operation.
Factual narrative
During landing on a private dirt strip, the right main landing gear broke through a large gopher hole, the airplane veered to the right, and before the pilot could correct the excursion, the right wing struck a sage brush along the edge of the runway. The airplane continued off to the right of the runway and impacted a soft berm and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and to the left upper wing. The pilot reported no abnormalities with the aircraft prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N795MC
- Reported as
- Lake John K MA-5 Charger
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 356
- Airframe hours
- 12
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John K Lake
- Registered owner
- John K Lake
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · July 27, 2012 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- 36U · Heber City, UT
- Destination
- UT41 · Eagle Mountain, UT
- Airport
- UT41 · Glenmar Ranch Airport, runway 15, 2,600 × 60 ft, dirt
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 1, 2012
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 13,000 total · 12 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- PVU, 15 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 3, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 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.