Shaffer William C QUICKSILVER MX II SP N4399J

Summary

On 1 June 2010 at about 20:20 local time, a Shaffer William C QUICKSILVER MX II SP registered N4399J, operated by Roland Longpre, was involved in an accident near Visalia, California, United States. One person was 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

1 June 2010 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Visalia, California, United States

Nearest airport

Private Runway (None)

Coordinates

36.3299, -119.2902

Aircraft

Shaffer William C QUICKSILVER MX II SP

Registration

N4399J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Roland Longpre

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Visalia → Visalia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA271

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind conditions and failure to maintain runway alignment while landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness observed the airplane in a field moving back and forth across a make shift dirt landing strip. He then observed the airplane take off and fly in a “circling maneuver” for approximately one hour. The witness stated that the airplane was flying eastbound over the makeshift landing strip and he watched as it attempted to land in windy conditions. He observed the airplane blown by the wind slightly to the south of the landing strip and crash, flipping over an unknown number of times. A police officer noted that this may have been the pilot’s first actual flight in this airplane and that at the time of the accident there was “a variable wind in the area that did pick up.” Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane landed on a soft/rough surface off the runway which resulted in the collapse of the right main gear. Further damage to the airplane occurred when the pusher propeller cut through a tail support tube of the airplane. The pilot did not hold any pilot or medical certificate.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.