Compton/Woodley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Compton, California 90220
Sunday, September 16, 2007 14:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane landed hard, ballooned into the air, and rotated on its wing before coming to rest 180 degrees from its original direction of travel. The pilot reported that he was caught by a gust of wind during the landing flare. A witness to the accident reported that the airplane landed hard. When it came back down, the propeller blades struck the runway, and the airplane "cartwheeled" around 180 degrees. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot misjudged the flare resulting in a hard landing and loss of aircraft control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/16/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Compton
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90220
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 335324N
Event Location Longitude 1181437W
Event Location Airport Compton/Woodley Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CPM
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 97
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID HHR
Elevation of weather observation facility 66
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.9
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) 22459
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 17 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 31 2007 7:09AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-LAX-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1844Q
NTSB Number LAX07CA276
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 177RG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 177RG0244
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James Martin
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Los Angeles
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90047
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 HHR
Departure City Hawthorne
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1420
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CPM
Destination City Compton
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 18 2007 5:38PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25L
Runway Length 3322
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --