Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Williams Gateway Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mesa, Arizona 85201
Friday, September 18, 1998 18:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While attempting a simulated flame out (SFO) approach, the pilots initiated a go-around at 300 feet agl. They applied full throttle but the engine did not spool up right away and they were not able to arrest their sink rate. About 10 to 12 seconds later the aircraft landed hard 700 feet short of the runway then veered off to the right. The second pilot got the airplane airborne again then touched down in the dirt. At that point the PIC took the controls and attempted to return to the runway, but the aircraft struck the localizer antenna with the right wing tip, which he had not been able to see from the back seat. About 150 yards before the airplane came to a stop, the second pilot ejected from the aircraft without warning. The aircraft came to rest upright in the desert brush. The aircraft pilot's operating handbook directs the pilot to decide whether to continue the landing or eject at a decision height of 800 feet agl. The handbook also indicates that the spool-up time for the aircraft engine is 9 to 12 seconds. The PIC stated that he had expected the engine to spool up in '4 to 5 seconds.' Postaccident examination revealed that the flaps were at the takeoff position, 25 degrees down. The PIC reported that he thought the flaps were still full down at the time of impact. He had also reported that during the descent, it felt like 'the bottom fell out.' Bringing the flaps up before establishing a positive rate of climb can cause a sink rate of 500 to 700 feet per minute. The PIC further stated that he hadn't experienced any problems with the engine prior to the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper flare and his failure to follow the proper procedures for the aircraft and to maintain control of the aircraft.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/18/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1800 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | MESA |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85201 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | WILLIAMS GATEWAY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IWA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 120 |
| Airport Elevation | 1380 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1745 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IWA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1380 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Unknown |
| 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) | 39 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1734 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 18 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1817 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2000 11:46AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N44529 |
| NTSB Number | LAX98LA298 |
| 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 | Aero Vodochody Aero. Works |
| Aircraft Model | L-39 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | L-39 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 432938 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 11220 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 12 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 12 |
| Airframe Hours | 1222 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AIR USA INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2367 CHASING STAR AVENUE |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAS VEGAS |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89123 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | ADVANCED TRAINING SYSTEMS INT |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 1900 |
| Operator City | HIGLEY |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 85236 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | IWA |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1700 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| 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 | 30C |
| Runway Length | 10201 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |