Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Livermore, California 94551
Sunday, May 9, 2010 10:28 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight departed in visual flight rules flight conditions and the non-instrument-rated pilot was returning to her home airport. There was no evidence the pilot obtained a weather briefing prior to departure. An analysis conducted by an NTSB meteorology specialist determined that precipitation passed through the area of the accident site near the time of the accident. A witness that heard the airplane and its subsequent collision with terrain indicated that there was low fog at the time of the accident. Radar data showed that the airplane flew in a straight-line pattern from the northeast to the southwest between its departure and destination and then turned to the southwest when approaching an area of higher terrain. Based on witness information, it is likely that the weather conditions were poor in this area and the pilot was attempting to maneuver the airplane to improved weather conditions at lower elevations on the other side of the higher terrain. Postaccident inspection of the airplane did not disclose evidence of any preimpact anomaly of the engine or airplane systems. The pilot was on a prescription antidepressant medication that would not have been expected to impair her performance. Additionally she also had ingested quinine, which may in some cases contribute to spatial disorientation, although its effect in this accident, if any, could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a collision with obstacles and terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/9/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1028 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Livermore |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 94551 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 374842N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1214807W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 190 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LVK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 400 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| 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) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28088 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 2 2011 3:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N56626 |
| NTSB Number | WPR10FA234 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-235 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7410016 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 3172 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Oskar Huber |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | BELMONT |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 94002-3743 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Julia Huber |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Belmont |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 94002-3743 |
| 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 | AUN |
| Departure City | Auburn |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 945 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SQL |
| Destination City | San Carlos |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 2 2011 3:02PM |
| 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 | -- |