Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Santa Monica Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Santa Monica, California 90401
Thursday, September 23, 1999 7:03 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the final approach, while executing a VOR-A instrument approach, the airplane landed hard, collided with the runway VASI display, and caught fire. The airplane had received radar vectors for the approach and was turned to a 20-degree intercept for the final approach course when 2.5 miles from the initial approach fix. Radar track data showed the airplane continued inbound to the field slightly left of course with a ground speed varying between 135 and 125 knots and a descent rate of approximately 700 feet per minute. The pilot said he descended through the clouds about 850 feet above ground level and saw the airport approximately 1 to 2 miles ahead. He noticed that he was left of the runway centerline and corrected to the right. He realized that he had overcorrected and turned back to the left. The pilot reported that he felt that the approach was stabilized although the descent rate was greater than usual. The airplane impacted the ground about 1,000 feet from the approach end of the runway abeam the air traffic control tower on an approximate heading of 185 degrees. The impact collapsed the landing gear and the airplane slid forward another 1,000 feet down the runway and came to rest approximately midfield on the runway. The pilot stated that he had not experienced any mechanical problems with the aircraft or the navigation equipment prior to the accident. A Special Weather Observation taken at the time of the accident contained the following: sky condition overcast at 500 feet; winds from 230 degrees at 3 knots; visibility 2 miles.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the pilot to establish and maintain a stabilized approach, which resulted in a hard landing and on-ground collision with the airport VASI display.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/23/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 703 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | SANTA MONICA |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 90401 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | SANTA MONICA |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SMO |
| 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 | 175 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 702 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SMO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 175 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 2 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 63 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 61 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| 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 | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11269 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 23 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 710 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2002 7:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N26585 |
| NTSB Number | LAX99FA310 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 421C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 421C |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 421C0832 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7500 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 2 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 123 |
| Airframe Hours | 3915 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RIVER TRANSPORTATION LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 455 HI MOUNTAIN ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | ARROYO GRANDE |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93420 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| 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) | Executive/Corporate |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LGB |
| Departure City | LONG BEACH |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 640 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | SMO |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 1 2001 4:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 4987 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |