Catalina Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Avalon, California 90704
Saturday, September 5, 2009 10:40 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that while on short final approach to the runway, the airplane encountered a downdraft "that dropped the [air]plane below the glide slope." He immediately noticed a reduction in airspeed. The pilot stated that he applied power and "pulled the nose up in an effort to regain proper altitude." Subsequently, the airplane landed "very hard" and collapsed the nosewheel landing gear. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the firewall was bent and the fuselage behind the aft seating area was buckled. The pilot reported no anomalies with the airplane's systems prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during approach to landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/5/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1040
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Avalon
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90704
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 332417N
Event Location Longitude 1182457W
Event Location Airport Catalina Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AVX
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 1602
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1051 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID AVX
Elevation of weather observation facility 1602
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26115
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 28 2009 3:29PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2242r
NTSB Number WPR09CA441
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 T210H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number T210-0392
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 Sep 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 38
Airframe Hours 2420
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Nicholas Hollis and Larry Hooper
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City RIVERSIDE
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92509-7324
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Larry Hooper
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City RIVERSIDE
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92509-7324
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code RAL
Departure City Riverside
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AVX
Destination City Avalon
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 28 2009 3:30PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --