Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Spaulding Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Susanville, California 96130
Wednesday, July 9, 1997 12:40 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot flew over the airport to checked the wind, which he said favored Runway 16. He noted there was a little ripple on a lake adjacent to the runway, but no waves or white caps. He determined that the wind was probably 170 to 180 degrees at 6 to 7 knots, with the windsock about 1/2 way out. The landing approach was normal. During the landing flare, a gust of wind caused the right wing to rise unexpectedly to approximately a 45-degree angle, almost forcing the left wing on to the runway surface. The pilot reported that he attempted to go around; however, the wind was blowing the aircraft to the left, and the aircraft was 'behind the power curve.' The pilot also stated that 'I think I touched [down] but am not sure.' The aircraft ultimately crashed through a barbed wire perimeter fence before coming to rest in a lake. Rescue personnel reported that near the time the accident, the winds were 'kicking from the west' with short gusts of approximately 20 to 30 mph. Also, they noted that in the general area of the accident, 'gusts come out of nowhere on a moments notice.' Density altitude was computed to be 8,000 feet msl.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's inadvertent encounter with unfavorable weather conditions during the landing, and his failure to maintain runway alignment. The sudden onset of crosswind gusts beyond the capability of the aircraft was a related factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/9/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1240 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | SUSANVILLE |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 96130 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | SPAULDING |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1Q2 |
| 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 | 5116 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1247 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GRS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 6050 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 213 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 13 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 8536 |
| 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) | 330 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 9 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1340 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N28299 |
| NTSB Number | LAX97LA236 |
| 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 | Grumman American |
| Aircraft Model | AA-5B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | AA-5B |
| Aircraft Serial Number | AA5B0537 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CATHERINE S. HAAS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 868 SOMERSET |
| Aircraft Owner City | SUNNYVALE |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 94087 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | JERRY R. ATTAWAY |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4949 CENTENNIAL BLVD |
| Operator City | SANTA CLARA |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 95054 |
| 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 | O02 |
| Departure City | BECKWOURTH |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 1Q2 |
| 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 | 16 |
| Runway Length | 4600 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |