Stockton Metropolitan Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Stockton, California 95206
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 13:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, during the takeoff roll, he "thought there was a slight loss of power." He decided to abort the takeoff and reduced the power. At a speed of about 30 mph, the airplane "suddenly turned sharply as if one of the wheels went into a hole or rut." The pilot applied opposite rudder and brake, but could not stop the turn. The airplane nosed over and came to rest in the inverted position. The pilot stated that the accident was due to "a hole or rut in the pavement or debris such as a piece of aircraft tire." Examination of the runway revealed the presence of two grooved depressions running the length of the runway in the asphalt on either side of the centerline. The grooves had a V shape and were about 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep. The width of the grooves corresponded to the width of the tires installed on the main landing gear of the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadvertent ground loop/swerve, resulting in a nose over during an aborted takeoff. A contributing factor was the uneven runway surface, which restricted the pilot's ability to maintain directional control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/24/2007
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Stockton
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95206
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 375339N
Event Location Longitude 1211418W
Event Location Airport Stockton Metropolitan
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SCK
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 33
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1255 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID SCK
Elevation of weather observation facility 33
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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 --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
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) 21530
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jan 24 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2007 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Oakland, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N41HR
NTSB Number SEA07LA053
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 Ross
Aircraft Model Hummer Pitts Special
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 209
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 44
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Herbert E. Ross
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Stockton
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code SCK
Departure City Stockton
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SCK
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 12 2007 7:15PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29L
Runway Length 4454
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --