General Wm. J. Fox Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lancaster, California 93536
Thursday, August 21, 1997 16:02 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot landed hard, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft veered to the left off the runway. The air traffic control tower reported that the winds were from 220 degrees at 18 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that the landing gear position indicator lights reflected that the gear was down before touchdown.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Improper flare.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/21/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1602
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LANCASTER
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93536
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GENERAL WM. J. FOX FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WJF
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 2347
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1550 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID WJF
Elevation of weather observation facility 2347
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) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 18
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) 1781
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 21 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1807
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:30PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9710B
NTSB Number LAX97LA297
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 172RG
Aircraft Series Identifier 172RG
Aircraft Serial Number 172RG0983
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 29 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6237
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JUSTICE AVIATION INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2701 AIRPORT AVE.
Aircraft Owner City SANTA MONICA
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90405
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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 1505
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code WJF
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 24
Runway Length 5001
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --