Catalina Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Avalon, California 90704
Sunday, August 4, 1996 16:20 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the airport's acting tower manager, the airplane's landing approach 'looked good' but was 'a lot faster than most twin-engine airplanes.' The airplane 'appeared to float,' and it did not touchdown until reaching midfield on the 3,240-foot-long runway. A pilot-witness who was standing on the ramp similarly reported that the airplane's approach speed was fast, and also noted that as the airplane passed midfield its nose wheel had not been lowered to the pavement. The pilot report that after touchdown he applied brakes, and although the airplane slowed he was unable to stop before exiting off the runway's departure end. The airplane went down an embankment, collided with rough terrain, and came to rest approximately 120 feet southwest of the runway's end. The pilot previously had landed at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. According to the FAA, at Santa Monica the airplane touched down about 1,000 feet prior to the end of that 4,987-foot-long runway. Three months earlier, the pilot received a multiengine class rating. At that time, he indicated his total multiengine flying experience was 23 hours of dual instruction.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to initiate a go-around when a landing overshoot became apparent. Factors which contributed to the accident were: the pilot's excessive airspeed and misjudged distance during landing, his lack of flying experience in the Cessna, and overconfidence in his personal ability.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/4/1996
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1620
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City AVALON
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90704
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CATALINA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AVX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 220
Airport Elevation 1602
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1620 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 40
Weather Observation Facility ID AVX
Elevation of weather observation facility 1602
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 4
Injury Total All 7
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2000
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 4 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1815
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:17AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6209V
NTSB Number LAX96LA296
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 421C
Aircraft Series Identifier 421C
Aircraft Serial Number 421C0324
Certified Max Gross Weight 7450
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 8
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TIGRAN SVADJIAN, M.D.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4928 E. TROPICANA AVE STE. 283
Aircraft Owner City LAS VEGAS
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89121
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SARKIS BADZHAKSIZYAN
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 15 CHICKADEE LANE
Operator City LAGUNA BEACH
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 92656
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SMO
Departure City SANTA MONICA
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1553
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AVX
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 22
Runway Length 3240
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --