Piper PA-16 N5641H

Summary

On 11 June 2007 at about 00:15 local time, a Piper PA-16 registered N5641H was involved in an accident near Esparto, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 June 2007 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Esparto, California, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (NONE)

Coordinates

38.6503, -122.0025

Aircraft

Piper PA-16

Registration

N5641H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McCellan → Esparto

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07CA149

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's misjudgment of altitude resulting in an undershoot. Factors included the berm and the wind gusts.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that at the south end of his private airstrip was a tomato field with an irrigation ditch that rises about 8 to 10 inches above the flat ground, and that while trying to land to the north in "mildly gusty conditions" (8 to 10 miles per hour variable out of the west-northwest) he clipped a berm. The pilot revealed that the impact "snapped off" the left landing gear as the airplane continued onto the runway and settled on the left wing and firewall. The pilot stated that he should have landed a little longer. No mechanical failures or malfunctions were reported.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.