King City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

King City, California 93930
Friday, August 6, 1993 14:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, the ground loop was induced when the right seat passenger accidentally pressed on the left rudder pedal as the aircraft neared lift off airspeed during the takeoff. The pilot reported that the aircraft yawed 45 degrees to the left when the passenger stepped on the left rudder pedal, and, he could not regain control of the aircraft prior to the ground loop.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's loss of directional control during the takeoff ground roll due to the inadvertent interference with the controls by a passenger.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/6/1993
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City KING CITY
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93930
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport KING CITY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KIC
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 370
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 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
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) 948
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 6 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1540
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:34PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1153K
NTSB Number LAX93LA314
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 MOONEY
Aircraft Model M20J
Aircraft Series Identifier M20J
Aircraft Serial Number 24-1239
Certified Max Gross Weight 2740
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 10 1992 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name G. M. UNRUH & K. FLECHSIG
Aircraft Owner Street Address 260 KENNEDY ROAD
Aircraft Owner City LOS GATOS
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95032
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name GUNTER M. UNRUH
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 6065 COUNTESS DRIVE
Operator City SAN JOSE
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 95129
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 KIC
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SJC
Destination City SAN JOSE
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 29
Runway Length 4485
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --