Cessna 195A N4026A

Summary

On 16 May 2013 at about 00:45 local time, a Cessna 195A registered N4026A, operated by James Grass, was involved in an accident near San Carlos, 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

16 May 2013 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

San Carlos, California, United States

Nearest airport

San Carlos (SQL)

Coordinates

37.5119, -122.2494

Aircraft

Cessna 195A

Registration

N4026A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

James Grass

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Jose → San Carlos

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13CA232

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing in the tailwheel equipped airplane, he executed a wheel landing, and continued to maintain directional control with the runway centerline. With the power at idle, the tail began losing lift and upon lowering the tail, the airplane began turning to the right. He applied left rudder, but found it ineffective so he also applied left brake to correct for the right turn. He was unable to bring the airplane back to the runway centerline, and felt that an aborted landing was no longer an option due to the direction the airplane was heading and the remaining runway length. He continued to apply left brake to the point where the tail began to lift, and tried to keep the airplane lined up to exit the runway at taxiway D. As the airplane entered the taxiway, the left main landing gear leg failed under side load. This resulted in the airplane’s left wing and fuselage contacting the runway surface as it came to rest with the airplane pointing about 45 degrees to the runway heading. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left side of the fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.