Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Edwards Air Force Base Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Edwards, California 93524
Friday, October 23, 2009 17:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
In a written statement, the pilot reported that shortly after departure, with the airplane about 30 to 40 feet above ground level (agl), the left door opened. The gull-wing type door prohibited the pilot from being able to reach its latch without him unfastening his seatbelt. Given the airplane was only about 3,000 feet down the 8,000-foot-long runway, the pilot opted to abort the takeoff by retarding the throttle to the idle position. The sun was reflecting off the windscreen hindering the pilot's vision and he could not ascertain the airplane's height above the runway surface. The airplane landed hard, incurring structural damage to the airframe. The pilot stated that accident could have been prevented if there was more emphasis in "door operation" when performing a check in a different make and model airplane. The pilot further added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper flare resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the sunglare.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/23/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1715 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Edwards |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93524 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345459N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1175145w |
| Event Location Airport | Edwards Air Force Base |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | EDW |
| 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 | 2312 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1655 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EDW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 30000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 85 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.96 |
| 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) | 26425 |
| 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 | Apr 6 2010 10:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3052N |
| NTSB Number | WPR10CA037 |
| 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 | SOCATA |
| Aircraft Model | TB200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1564 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2535 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 11 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 2665 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE AERO CLUB |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5 SELLER AVE BLDG 3000 |
| Aircraft Owner City | EDWARDS AFB |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93523-ND |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE AERO CLUB |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 5 SELLER AVE BLDG 3000 |
| Operator City | EDWARDS AFB |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 93523-ND |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | EDW |
| Departure City | Edwards |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1715 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TSP |
| Destination City | Tehachapi |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 6 2010 10:09AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 24 |
| Runway Length | 8000 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |