Willows-Glenn Co Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Willows, California 95988
Wednesday, August 21, 2002 16:18 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot failed to maintain runway alignment during the landing flare, which resulted in the airplane touching down off the runway in soft dirt and nosing over. The pilot had just purchased the tail wheel equipped airplane and was practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings to gain confidence in the airplane prior to flying it home. The pilot said that during the first landing, about 2 feet above the ground, the airplane was "blown" to the right of the runway where it touched down in the soft dirt. The main tires dug into the dirt, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that having more flight time in the airplane may have helped prevent the accident. He had 5 hours in this make and model of airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate compensation for crosswind conditions resulting in his failure to maintain runway alignment. Contributing factors to the accident were the pilot's lack of familiarity with the airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/21/2002
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1618
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Willows
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95988
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393000N
Event Location Longitude 1221305W
Event Location Airport Willows-Glenn Co
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WLW
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 139
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 75
Weather Observation Facility ID OVE
Elevation of weather observation facility 192
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
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) 1889
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16344
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 21 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1653
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAC-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4344V
NTSB Number LAX02LA260
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 195
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7250
Certified Max Gross Weight 3350
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 16 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 3280
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Byron D. Edmonds
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Boring
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97009
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 WLW
Departure City Willows
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1610
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code WLW
Destination City Willows
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 Aug 2 2004 3:51PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 4210
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --