Sonoma County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Santa Rosa, California 95403
Friday, June 28, 1996 18:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot let his airspeed get too low and he flared too high on the landing. The airplane touched down hard and bounced. On the second bounce the nose gear collapsed and the pilot lost direction control. The airplane slid off the left side of the runway and came to rest in a grassy area adjacent to the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the solo student pilot misjudged the landing flare resulting in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was low airspeed.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/28/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1815
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City SANTA ROSA
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95403
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SONOMA COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID STS
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 125
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1815 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID STS
Elevation of weather observation facility 125
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 797
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 28 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1853
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N68459
NTSB Number LAX96LA251
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 152
Aircraft Series Identifier 152
Aircraft Serial Number 152-82303
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 13 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 8296
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HODGE, RICHARD D.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1761 WILLIAM DR.
Aircraft Owner City PENNGROVE
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94951
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name AERO VENTURE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 561 SKY RANCH DRIVE
Operator City PETALUMA
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 94954
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code O69
Departure City PETALUMA
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code STS
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 5115
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --