Montgomery Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Diego, California 92123
Tuesady, December 29, 1998 15:47 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated he had experienced insufficient pitch control on landing at Tucson, Arizona, prior to the accident. He reported that he 'found play in the elevator control,' and was advised over the telephone by Velocity Inc. to add washers or spacers to the rear of the torque tube to remove the play. With the aid of a local pilot in Tucson, he added the washers and spacers to the rear of the torque tube. The pilot further stated that upon attempting to flare at Montgomery Field, 'the nose would not come up.' The aircraft bounced, veered off the runway, skidded across a grass area, and collided tail first with a parked Cessna 340. According to the pilot, on January 2, 1999, builders from Velocity Inc. inspected the airplane, and found that 'the front bearing of the aileron torque tube had come loose, thus preventing a full elevator down deflection.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate modification to the control systems, which resulted in a restricted elevator control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/29/1998
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1547
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City SAN DIEGO
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92123
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MONTGOMERY FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MYF
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 427
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID MYF
Elevation of weather observation facility 427
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
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) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1744
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 29 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1610
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:55AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N466MF
NTSB Number LAX99LA060
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 Aegerter, Simon
Aircraft Model VELOCITY 173E-RG
Aircraft Series Identifier VELOCITY 1
Aircraft Serial Number DMO-326
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 70
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SABINA AEGERTER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4423 CLEAR AVE
Aircraft Owner City TAMPA
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33629
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SIMON AEGERTER
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address ZINZIKERBERG STR. 30
Operator City WINTERTHUR
Operator State OF
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 8404
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 RYN
Departure City TUCSON
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 1410
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code MYF
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 28L
Runway Length 3399
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --