- Date
- December 31, 2019, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Elk, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7095MCessna 175
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20191231019759A
- Case key
- 100757
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 arrest the descent rate during an aborted simulated engine-out approach, which resulted in impact with vegetation and a subsequent cartwheel.
Findings · 3
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 he completed an aerial observation flight, he decided to conduct a simulated engine-out approach to an open field. When the airplane was about 40 ft above ground level, the pilot aborted the approach by applying full engine power and elevator backpressure. The descent was not immediately arrested, but the airplane seemed to be accelerating. As the airplane continued to descend, it slipped left, and the left main landing gear struck a bush, which induced more left yaw and loss of lift. Subsequently, the wing struck vegetation and terrain, and the airplane then cartwheeled and came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after he completed an aerial observation flight, he decided to conduct a simulated engine out approach to an open field. When the airplane was about 40 ft above ground level, the pilot aborted the approach by applying full engine power and elevator backpressure. The pilot stated that the descent was not immediately arrested, but the airplane seemed to be accelerating. As the airplane continued to descend, it slipped to the left and the left main landing gear struck a bush which induced more left yaw and loss of lift. Subsequently the wing struck vegetation and terrain and the airplane cartwheeled before it came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7095M
- Reported as
- Cessna 175 (Undesignat)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 55395
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 2,990
- Engine
- Teledyne continental IO-360-C, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 5, 2019 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- KLLR · Lttle River, CA
- Destination
- O69 · Petaluma, CA
- Airport
- LLR · Little River
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Handheld GPS
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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2018
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 296.6 total · 186.3 in this make and model · 201 as pilot in command · 14.6 in the last 90 days · 1.7 in the last 30 days · 1.1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 59 °F
- Observed at
- LLR, 12 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 14, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.8 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 N7095M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.