Lost Hills-Kern Co Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lost Hills, California 93249
Sunday, May 23, 2010 16:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the takeoff initial climb, the pilot reported that the rudder trim became deflected to the left and remained stuck in that position. He stopped the climb, cycled the autopilot, and turned off the yaw damper; however, his efforts did not resolve the rudder trim deflection issue. The pilot input rudder in an attempt to correct the issue, and he thought that the airplane was under control, so he continued the flight to his destination. The avionics failed shortly thereafter, followed by the illumination of the low fuel pressure light. Then the engine lost power. The pilot feathered the propeller and was able to reach an airport for an emergency landing. During the landing, the airplane floated down the runway, touching down about midfield. The pilot was not able to stop the airplane before it exited the runway and collided with terrain. Postaccident, the rudder trim tab was found deflected two inches to the left. However, the rudder trim indicator showed a full deflection to the right. The circuit breaker was found partially open and was recycled, as indicated in the pilot’s operating handbook for rudder trim emergencies, and the anomaly could not be replicated. Postaccident examination also found 90 gallons of fuel in the right tank and no fuel in the left tank. However, this airplane is equipped with a fuel autobalance system, which should have selected fuel to be fed from the right tank with the left tank empty. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined during postaccident testing and examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point on the runway, which led to the runway overrun.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/2010
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Lost Hills
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93249
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373729N
Event Location Longitude 1194110W
Event Location Airport Lost Hills-Kern Co Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID L84
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 274
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1554 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 110
Weather Observation Facility ID BFL
Elevation of weather observation facility 510
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 33
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
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 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30853
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP 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 May 21 2013 3:12PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N750AB
NTSB Number WPR10LA260
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SOCATA
Aircraft Model TBM
Aircraft Series Identifier 700
Aircraft Serial Number 4
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Feb 18 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2397
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name MJM Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Fresno
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93720
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name MJM Aviation LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Fresno
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 93720
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 No
Departure Airport Code SBP
Departure City San Luis Obispo
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FAT
Destination City Fresno
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2012 6:19PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 3020
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --