Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hesperia Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hesperia, California 92345
Tuesady, July 11, 2006 10:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with a fence while on final approach to the destination airport. While aligned on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane encountered a downdraft, and the pilot attempted to increase the engine power and recover from the sudden descent. The airplane collided with a fence that was at the approach end of the runway then slid about 100 yards down the pavement before coming to rest off the right side of the runway surface. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. The Airport/Facility Directory, Southwest U. S., indicated that the runway was 3,910 feet long and 50 feet wide, with a displaced threshold of 500 feet. The runway had an upsloping gradient, which was not noted in the directory. A Federal Aviation Administration publication states that a "narrower-than-usual runway can create the illusion that the aircraft is at a higher altitude than it actually is." It further states that a pilot who fails to recognize this illusion will "fly a lower approach, with the risk of striking objects along the approach path or landing short." The publication also addresses runway and terrain slopes illusions, stating that an, "upsloping runway, upsloping terrain, or both, can create the illusion that the aircraft is at a higher altitude than it actually is." Again, it warns that pilots who fail to recognize this illusion will fly a lower approach.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain the proper glide path on final approach as a result of the visual illusions created by a narrow, upsloping runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/11/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1015 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Hesperia |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92345 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 342238N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1171857W |
| Event Location Airport | Hesperia Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | L26 |
| 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 | 3390 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 950 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | VCV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 901 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| 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) | 36 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.98 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21622 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 18 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2007 1:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-RAL-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1014A |
| NTSB Number | LAX06LA235 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Alfred |
| Aircraft Model | Long-EZ |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1014 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John Bauer |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Victorville |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92392 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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 | APV |
| Departure City | Apple Valley |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | L26 |
| Destination City | Hesperia |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 21 2007 6:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 3910 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |