- Date
- September 5, 2014, 19:45 local (Sep 6, 2014, 02:45 UTC)
- Place
- Black Rock City, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N31273Bellanca 8KCAB
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20140905016309A
- Case key
- 90033
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. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's disorientation as a result of dust which reduced visibility.
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 reported that after touchdown on a dirt airstrip he encountered a reduction in visibility due to what he believed to be dust kicked up due to a tailwind. The loss of visibility resulted in the airplane departing the runway and subsequently nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and to the left wing tip. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after touchdown on a dirt airstrip he encountered a reduction in visibility due to what he believed to be dust kicked up due to a tailwind. The loss of visibility resulted in the airplane departing the runway and subsequently nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and to the left wing tip. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N31273
- Reported as
- Bellanca 8KCAB (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 52-72
- Built
- 1972
- Airframe hours
- 2,706
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-E1A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 11, 2014 · 97 hours before
- Departed
- WMC · Winnemucca, CA
- Destination
- Black Rock City, CA
- Airport
- 88NV · Black Rock City, runway 7R, 5,280 × 60 ft, dirt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 33
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 29, 2014
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 211.6 total · 51.7 in this make and model · 131.6 as pilot in command · 77.5 in the last 90 days · 32.2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KWMC
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 9, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 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.