Vacaville Nut Tree Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Vacaville, California 95688
Friday, November 26, 1993 10:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

An FAA inspector who witnessed the accident said the aircraft was on a go-around near the runway's midpoint when the left wing suddenly dropped. The aircraft turned left, collided with trees bordering the airport, and cartwheeled into a field. He reported that the winds were from the northwest at 12 knots with gusts to 20 knots. He stated that trees line the runway which can create wind shear conditions in cross wind situations. The pilot said that he flared high and bounced on the runway during the landing approach, and initiated a go-around. During the go-around, the pilot said he could not control the aircraft and the left wing dropped. The aircraft then turned and collided with trees. The pilot said that a fuel imbalance may have contributed to the loss of lateral control. FAA inspectors said that about 18 months ago the pilot crashed the aircraft during its first test flight. The pilot rebuilt the aircraft and this was the first flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft during a go-around. Factors in the accident were the wind shear conditions and the pilot's failure to adequately balance the fuel load during the flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/26/1993
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City VACAVILLE
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95688
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport VACAVILLE NUT TREE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O45
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 110
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
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) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1758
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 26 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1355
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:45PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N320PW
NTSB Number LAX94LA060
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 ALBRECHT
Aircraft Model POLYWAGON
Aircraft Series Identifier POLYWAGON
Aircraft Serial Number 13
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 23 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT T. ALBRECHT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 410 MARINA BLVD.
Aircraft Owner City SUISUN
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94585
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name ROBERT T. ALBRECHT
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 410 MARINA BLVD.
Operator City SUISUN
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 94585
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code O45
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 950
Departure Time Zone PST
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 Landing
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 2
Runway Length 3800
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --