Hearst Castle Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Simeon, California 94802
Friday, October 2, 2009 17:16 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot taxied into the parking area, which appeared to be level from his perspective in the cockpit. Although the checklist called for setting the parking brake, the pilot elected to not use it since there were several chocks available on the ramp and no movement of the airplane was observed. He walked back to open the passenger door when the airplane began rolling backwards and impacted the windshield of a parked car. Although the parking area appeared level, the pilot indicated that later analysis showed there was a gradual slope.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to follow the manufacturer’s checklist and set the parking brake.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/2/2009
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1716
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City San Simeon
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94802
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 333949N
Event Location Longitude 1211155W
Event Location Airport Hearst Castle Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 195
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID PRB
Elevation of weather observation facility 840
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
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 6
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26354
NTSB Notification Source WP-FAA-Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 23 2009 3:12PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N31KT
NTSB Number WPR10LA002
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
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 421B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 421B0011
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 8
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 24 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 73
Airframe Hours 4850
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Kenneth Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Pomona
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91766-4764
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Western Air Charter
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1805-D McKinley Avenue
Operator City La Verne
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 91750
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SMO
Departure City Santa Monica
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City San Simeon
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 23 2009 3:14PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --