Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Madera, California 93638
Sunday, February 24, 2002 17:50 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a local daytime flight the pilot became disoriented. He made a precautionary landing in a small airstrip used for model airplanes. On rollout, the airplane overran the end of the 700-foot-long field, impacted a berm, and nosed over. The pilot subsequently reported that he had landed because it was getting dark, it was foggy, and he had become disoriented. The responding sheriff reported that no fog was noted in the area, the visibility was not restricted, and it was daylight. Airports 10 to 15 miles from the accident site also reported having a clear sky condition and unrestricted visibility.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's becoming lost/disoriented.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/24/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1750
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Madera
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93638
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 365540N
Event Location Longitude 1195107W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1756 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID FAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 336
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
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) 14947
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 24 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1825
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 8:06AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO Fresno, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1977F
NTSB Number LAX02LA094
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17273065
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Oct 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James A. Siewert
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Tranquillity
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93668
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 --
Departure City Tranquillity
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Tranquillity
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 Nov 21 2003 5:00PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --