Little River Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Little River, California 95456
Saturday, March 29, 1997 12:58 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that she flared 8 to 10 feet above the runway and stalled the airplane. The airplane pitched nose down and landed on the nose gear. The nose gear collapsed, damaging the fire wall.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to properly judge the flare altitude.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/29/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1258
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City LITTLE RIVER
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95456
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LITTLE RIVER
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O48
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 572
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1245 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID UKI
Elevation of weather observation facility 614
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
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 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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 304
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 29 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1319
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:10PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2128Q
NTSB Number LAX97LA135
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-161
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7916281
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Mar 26 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 3494
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT CONSULT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 798 PRADERIA CIRCLE
Aircraft Owner City FREMINT
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94539
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name WEST VALLEY FLYING CLUB
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1901 EMBARCADERO ROAD, STE 100
Operator City PALO ALTO
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 94303
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PAO
Departure City PALO ALTO
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1125
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code O48
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 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 5249
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --