Wampach MURPHY MOOSE N331RW

Summary

On 1 June 2013 at about 18:00 local time, a Wampach MURPHY MOOSE registered N331RW, operated by Richard Wampach, was involved in an accident near Galt, 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

1 June 2013 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Galt, California, United States

Nearest airport

Mustang Airport (2CL9)

Coordinates

38.3342, -121.3033

Aircraft

Wampach MURPHY MOOSE

Registration

N331RW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Richard Wampach

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Placerville → Galt

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13CA260

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in an abnormal runway contact.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had flown into the airport previously, but never in the accident airplane. While on final approach, he noticed power lines between his position and the runway, and he "pulled back" on the pitch control to overfly the power lines. The pilot continued the approach and landing, but in the flare, the airplane "dropped and bounced." When the airplane was airborne after the bounce, he added power to initiate a go-around. However, the airplane did not climb as expected, and he was experiencing directional control problems. The pilot reduced power, and landed the airplane in a field adjacent to the runway. During the rollout in the field, the pilot noticed a ditch ahead of him, perpendicular to his direction of travel, and about 5 to 10 feet wide. He added power to attempt to fly over the ditch, but the main gear struck the far side of the ditch, which damaged the landing gear and fuselage structure. The airplane came to rest about two to three airplane lengths beyond the ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage, right wing, and empennage, including the rudder control system. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.