Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Santa Maria, California 93454
Friday, March 21, 2003 17:10 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While taking off from his remote ranch airstrip, the pilot stalled the airplane and collided with trees and terrain. The pilot had been utilizing this airstrip for more than 20 years. The airstrip was a 1,200 by 50-foot dirt/grass runway that was oriented on a magnetic bearing of 050/230 degrees. On the north side of the runway edge were bushes that were from 6 to 20 feet in height. The south side of the runway had bushes that were 6 to 12 feet in height. At the end of the runway was a row of bushes that were about 10 to 12 feet in height. All of the bushes and trees in the area of the runway environment were overgrown. One hundred feet of the eastern end of the runway sloped uphill and appeared to be unusable. The pilot departed from the airstrip westbound. There were ground tracks indicating the airplane had veered to the left (south) side of the runway. On the south side of the runway, about 900 feet down the usable portion of the runway, there were bushes that were disturbed displaying broken twigs and branches. The damage to the bushes started at 6 feet high and continued to increase in height. About 920 feet down the runway, there was a red colored navigation lens found on the ground in the same area as the disturbed bushes. At the departure end of the runway there was another bush that had been trimmed flat about 10 to 12 feet high. About 75 feet west of the departure end of the runway was a row of trees that were perpendicular to the runway alignment; the tops of these trees were about 20 to 30 feet higher than the bushes located at the end of the runway. There was no evidence of any disruption or impact damage to the trees. The aircraft then impacted another stand of trees, which were 370 feet southwest from the departure end of the airstrip in a nose and left wing low attitude. No mechanical malfunctions were noted with the airplane or engine during the on scene investigation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain proper runway alignment during the takeoff ground roll, which resulted in the left wing contacting the brush lining the runway edge. The combined effects of the brush and tree contact retarded the airplanes acceleration and resulted in the pilot's failure to attain an adequate airspeed in the takeoff initial climb, which resulted in an inadvertent stall mush. The pilot's failure to maintain the surrounding areas of the runway was a factor in the accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/21/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1710
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Santa Maria
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93454
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 345927N
Event Location Longitude 1201117W
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1651 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 73
Weather Observation Facility ID SMX
Elevation of weather observation facility 242
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
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) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) 1122
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15304
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 21 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1840
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2004 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO- VAN NUYS

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3236S
NTSB Number LAX03FA116
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18255736
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
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 Jan 16 2003 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 GPL INDUSTRIES INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4528 El Camino Corto
Aircraft Owner City LA CANADA
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91011
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name GARY L PARKER
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 --
Departure City Santa Maria
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1710
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code WHP
Destination City Pacoima
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 24 2004 6:06PM
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 --