California Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

California Valy, California 93453
Friday, January 14, 1994 16:30 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft owner was enrolled in a pilot refresher training course and said that the flight instructor had him land at the airstrip in order to practice soft field operations. The pilot noted that during the takeoff ground roll the aircraft veered left off the narrow runway and struck a metal fence post with the left horizontal stabilizer. The owner said the fence posts were only about 10 to 15 feet from the edge of the 40 foot wide runway. The flight instructor stated that, because the pilot applied power slowly, he looked down to see just exactly what power level was set. When he looked up again, the aircraft was heading off the runway to the left toward the fence posts. The instructor reported that he took control of the aircraft as it collided with a post, regained directional control, and completed the takeoff. After an inflight damage assessment, the instructor landed the aircraft at the airstrip.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE INSTRUCTOR'S INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF THE FLIGHT.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/14/1994
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City CALIFORNIA VALY
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93453
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CALIFORNIA VALLEY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6L3
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1950
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 189
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 17 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 10:25AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5211V
NTSB Number LAX94LA095
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model T210L
Aircraft Series Identifier T210L
Aircraft Serial Number 21060861
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 25 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 1872
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARC RAMBOD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 393 CALLE COYOTE
Aircraft Owner City EL SALTO ARROY
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 87514
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name MARC RAMBOD
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 393
Operator City ARROYO SECO
Operator State NM
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 87514
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SMX
Departure City SANTA MARIA
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SMX
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 44
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --