Alturus Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Alturus, California 96101
Friday, July 9, 1993 13:25 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he was departing the Alturus municipal airport, which has an elevation of 4,375 feet MSL. The official weather observation for the airport reported a temperature of 83 degrees 20 minutes after the accident, for a computed density altitude of 7,100 feet. The pilot noted that the engine ran smoothly during the takeoff ground roll, but did not seem to reach full RPM. He said that at about 50 knots he rotated the nose of the aircraft and it climbed about 10 feet, then settled back onto the pavement. The pilot noted that he attempted several times to lift off the runway, but the aircraft would not climb off of the pavement. The pilot stated that he then aborted the takeoff, over ran the departure end of the runway and collided with a ditch and a fence. The flight manual for the aircraft states that the mixture should be leaned for takeoff at fields with elevations above 3,000 feet. The rotation speed specified in the flight manual for a normal takeoff is 55 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S DELAY IN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF. THE PILOT'S PREMATURE ROTATION AND HIS FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES IN THE AIRPLANE FLIGHT MANUAL REGARDING USE OF THE MIXTURE CONTROL, THE HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE CONDITION AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF TOTAL FLIGHT EXPEREINCE WERE FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/9/1993
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1325
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City ALTURUS
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96101
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ALTURUS MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O00
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 4375
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1349 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID O00
Elevation of weather observation facility 4375
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 10000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 7
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) 937
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 9 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1407
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N75901
NTSB Number LAX93LA284
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 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier 172N
Aircraft Serial Number 17268026
Certified Max Gross Weight 2307
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 2 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 2868
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HOWARD ANDERSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3892 EXMOOR CIRCLE
Aircraft Owner City SACRAMENTO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95864
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name EXECUTIVE FLYERS, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 6151 FREEPORT BLVD.
Operator City SACRAMENTO
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 95822
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code O00
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1325
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SAC
Destination City SACRAMENTO
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
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 21
Runway Length 3460
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --