Bennett GLASTAR N241GS

Summary

On 19 May 2001 at about 21:45 local time, a Bennett GLASTAR registered N241GS was involved in an accident near Grass Valley, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 May 2001 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Grass Valley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Alta Sierra (Q62)

Coordinates

39.3391, -120.8700

Aircraft

Bennett GLASTAR

Registration

N241GS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Grass Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA187

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to arrest the excessive descent rate. A contributing factor was the gusty wind conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the commercial pilot, he reduced power on final approach and then experienced an "extreme downdraft." He increased power in an attempt to arrest the excessive descent rate that ensued; however, he was unsuccessful. The airplane struck the ground and bounced back into the air. The pilot performed a go-around and conducted a low pass so that a person on the ground could examine the airplane. He was told that the nose landing gear was collapsed and the right wing was bent down approximately 20 degrees. The pilot performed another landing, during which the airplane skidded along the runway for 350 feet prior to veering off the side and nosing over. The closest weather reporting facility, which was 18 miles away, reported the wind at 14 knots with gusts to 23 knots. The pilot had accumulated a total of 32.2 hours of flight time in the accident airplane. The pilot indicated he could have landed with additional power and airspeed as a possible way of preventing the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.