Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
La Fonda Ranch Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Brackettville, Texas 78832
Friday, December 15, 2006 21:11 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 7,660-hour airline transport rated pilot lost control of the twin-engine airplane while attempting to abort the landing. Dark night conditions prevailed for the attempted landing on runway 18. Runway 18 was reported to be 5,280-feet long, by 50 feet wide. The asphalt runway was reported to be dry and in good condition at the time of the accident. The pilot stated in the accident report (NTSB form 6120.1/2) that "I saw the one row of lights on short final and my mind played a trick on me. I had the thought that I was off-course and that those lights were houses." The pilot delayed making the decision to execute a go-around and by the time he added power the airplane had touched down in the "turnaround" area to the right of the approach end of runway 18. During the inadvertent touchdown the airplane rolled to the left and the left propeller struck the ground, resulting in damage to the left engine. The pilot added that he elected to retard the right engine to avoid losing control of the airplane and the airplane impacted the ground to the left of the runway. The airplane came to rest in an area of small bushes and mesquite trees. The pilot was able to egress the airplane unassisted through the main cabin door, and was not injured. A post-impact fire developed and consumed the airplane. The pilot reported that he was familiar with the airport and had operated several airplanes in and out of that location. Weather reported at Del Rio International Airport, located approximately 11 miles north of the accident site, was clear skies, 3 miles visibility, with winds from 150 degrees at 5 knots, temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of Mercury. The pilot added that he was not aware that the first 5 or 6 runway lights on the left side of the runway (at the approach end) were out of service when he initiated the night landing approach.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain proper runway alignment on final approach and his delayed decision to execute a go-around. Factors were the dark night conditions and the inoperative runway edge lights.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/15/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2111 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Brackettville |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78832 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 291300N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1003700W |
| Event Location Airport | La Fonda Ranch Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 2TX3 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1020 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2045 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 308 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KDRT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| 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) | 3 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21209 |
| NTSB Notification Source | SAT FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 15 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2007 9:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | San Antonio, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N642CB |
| NTSB Number | DFW07CA038 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 421 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1770-0010 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7250 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| 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 | Pescara Homes LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 10916 Morton Hill Lane |
| Aircraft Owner City | Haslet |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76052 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Thomas Westberry |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KFTW |
| Departure City | Forth Worth |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1900 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 2TX3 |
| Destination City | Brackettville |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 17 2007 3:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 5280 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |