Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Imperial, California 92251
Monday, November 28, 2005 17:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with a tree and transmission wires while performing a low pass maneuver over a barbeque gathering. The airplane made several low-altitude passes just prior to the accident. On the final pass, the left wing collided with a tree located near the barbeque grill. After the initial impact, pieces of the wing fell to the ground. The remaining skin on the left wing shed as the airplane flew into transmission wires, impacted the soft terrain, and flipped inverted. A post accident examination revealed no evidence of preimpact malfunction or failure of the airframe or engine. Toxicological tests of the pilot were positive for ethyl alcohol with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent (W/V). The pilot took off between 1 and 1.5 hours prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a tree and transmission wires while performing a low altitude maneuver. Also causal was the pilot's impaired judgment and performance due to alcohol ingestion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/28/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Imperial
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92251
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324752N
Event Location Longitude 1153038W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID IPL
Elevation of weather observation facility -54
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 20203
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 28 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 29 2006 3:49PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAN-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2455T
NTSB Number LAX06FA049
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 Navion
Aircraft Model G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2455
Certified Max Gross Weight 3350
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Aug 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1376.25
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Luther Hester
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City El Centro
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92249
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Scott Hester
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Holtville
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92250
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 23CN
Departure City El Centro
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 12 2006 6:32PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --