San Carlos Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Carlos, California 94070
Saturday, January 17, 1998 15:10 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft was modified by STC to a conventional landing gear configuration. The pilot reported that he did not sufficiently reduce the airspeed during the approach and the aircraft 'bounced about 2-3 feet' on the touchdown. At that point, the seat slid backwards about 3 to 4 inches and the pilot stated that the abrupt seat movement caused his loss of control. The aircraft then ground looped, turned approximately 90 degrees, and came to a stop upright on the runway. Aircraft maintenance records disclosed that Airworthiness Directive 87-20-03R2, which pertains to the inspection of the seat tracks, had been complied with. The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that he had forgotten to engage the seat locking pin before the flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's excessive airspeed, which resulted in a bounced landing, and, his failure to ensure that his seat locking pin was engaged, which caused his seat to move backwards during the touchdown and resulted in his loss of directional control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/17/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1510
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City SAN CARLOS
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94070
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SAN CARLOS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SQL
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 20
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 218
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 28 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1120
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7911F
NTSB Number LAX98LA080
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 150F
Aircraft Series Identifier 150F
Aircraft Serial Number 150-64011
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 25 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 8
Airframe Hours 4694
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SCOTT BREAR
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3060 SUMMIT CIRCLE
Aircraft Owner City CAMARILLO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93012
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 CMA
Departure City CAMARILLO
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SQL
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 2600
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --