Holister Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hollister, California 95023
Saturday, May 12, 2001 11:17 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Approaching the airport, the pilot became aware that during landing on runway 31 he would encounter a left crosswind condition. The pilot landed with the airplane's left wing low to compensate for the crosswind. However, as the airplane decelerated it yawed right. The pilot's actions were inadequate to compensate for the surface wind that was from about 240 degrees, between 10 and 15 knots. Thereafter, the pilot lost directional control of his airplane. It veered right off the side of runway 31 and impacted a berm. The runway is 6,350 feet long and 100 feet wide.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate aircraft handling procedure and failure to maintain directional control while landing in a known crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/12/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1117
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Hollister
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95023
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 365336N
Event Location Longitude 1212436W
Event Location Airport Holister Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3O7
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 230
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1048 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 307
Weather Observation Facility ID RHV
Elevation of weather observation facility 133
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 33
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
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) 11508
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 12 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1154
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2002 1:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO San Jose, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4009B
NTSB Number LAX01LA171
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 Aeronca
Aircraft Model 7DC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7BCM-380
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 6 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 2791
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jon Miller
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Santa Clara
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95051
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 No
Departure Airport Code RHV
Departure City San Jose
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1045
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 3O7
Destination City Hollister
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2002 11:41AM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 6350
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --