Camarillo Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Camarillo, California 93010
Saturday, January 27, 2001 11:11 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice touch-and-go landings at another nearby airport. The airplane had been converted from tricycle to conventional landing gear and the pilot had received a tailwheel aircraft logbook endorsement. The pilot applied about 1/2 of the engine power and intended to perform a "slow takeoff." The runway was 6,010 feet long and 150 feet wide. During the early part of the takeoff roll, when the pilot applied forward pressure on the controls to lift the tail from the runway, the aircraft started to veer to the left. He corrected with right rudder and the airplane entered a skid to the right and ground looped. The airplane came to rest off the right-hand edge of the runway with damage to the left wing, left horizontal stabilizer, and left landing gear. The surface wind was a right, quartering tailwind at 3 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/27/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1111
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City CAMARILLO
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93010
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Camarillo
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CMA
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 75
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1055 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID CMA
Elevation of weather observation facility 75
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 12
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.86
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10940
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 27 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1134
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 6 2001 9:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9411D
NTSB Number LAX01LA081
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-6385
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
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 Jun 8 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 29
Airframe Hours 3343
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RICHARD A. SWEET
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City VENTURA
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93003
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 CMA
Departure City CAMARILLO
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1111
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OXR
Destination City Oxnard
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 23 2001 4:45AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 6010
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --