Desert Gardens Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Quartzsite, Arizona 92115
Saturday, February 1, 2003 11:10 TL

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with a car crossing the runway. After the airplane touched down on the dirt strip, a car pulled out to cross the runway. The pilot attempted to go around but the left main gear hit the car and sheared off. The airplane skidded down the runway and veered off to the left, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing and fuselage. The airstrip was marked with "stop" and "landing area" signs; however, the car did not stop before crossing the airstrip.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The driver of the vehicle did not stop prior to crossing the airstrip as directed by airstrip signage.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/1/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1110
Event Time Zone --
Event City Quartzsite
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92115
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 330000N
Event Location Longitude 1140000W
Event Location Airport Desert Gardens Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1056 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 20
Weather Observation Facility ID KBLH
Elevation of weather observation facility 397
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
Density Altitude (feet) 2334
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) 16111
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 1 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1020
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6106V
NTSB Number LAX03LA080
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR/IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model S-35
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number D-7966
Certified Max Gross Weight 3300
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 12 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 3550
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Paul E.Thomas
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City San Diego
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92115
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 KCRQ
Departure City Carlsbad
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City Quartzsite
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Go-around (VFR)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 18 2004 5:41PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 090
Runway Length 2900
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --