Willie Bennett GLASTAR N345BP

Summary

On 15 July 2019 at about 16:15 local time, a Willie Bennett GLASTAR registered N345BP was involved in an accident near Lompoc, California, United States. One person was on board and one 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

15 July 2019 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Lompoc, California, United States

Nearest airport

Lompoc (LPC)

Coordinates

34.6656, -120.4575

Aircraft

Willie Bennett GLASTAR

Registration

N345BP

Category

Airplane

Year built

2000

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lompoc → Lompoc

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

GAA19CA421

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper glidepath during a night landing, which resulted in impact with a tree.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while on the base leg for his third nighttime landing, the runway lights turned off. Despite his failed attempts to turn on the runway lights, he completed his base-to-final turn about 200 ft above ground level. With the runway lights not illuminated, he decided to use the blue taxiway lights parallel to the runway as his reference to land. While on final approach, the airplane struck a tree and impacted the ground inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.