Schoonover Strip (Private) Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Hunter Liggett, California 93928
Thursday, October 21, 2010 16:47 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was conducting a short-field landing demonstration on a dirt airstrip. During the landing approach, the tailwheel impacted a berm of dirt located at the approach end of the airstrip. The nose pitched down and the propeller struck the runway, followed by the main landing gear. The airplane then bounced back into the air and the pilot added engine power. The airplane skidded to the left, resulting in the right main landing gear and tailwheel separating during the impact sequence. The pilot indicated that he should have landed farther down the airstrip. He reported no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's misjudged glide path, which resulted in a runway undershoot and collision with terrain during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/21/2010
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1647
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Fort Hunter Liggett
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93928
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 355817N
Event Location Longitude 1211219W
Event Location Airport Schoonover Strip (Private)
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 --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
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) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID PRB
Elevation of weather observation facility 840
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 35
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27672
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 22 2010 11:32AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4247U
NTSB Number WPR11CA023
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 AIR TRACTOR INC
Aircraft Model AT-802
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 802-4001
Certified Max Gross Weight 16000
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 7 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 187
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name AIR TRACTOR INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 485
Aircraft Owner City OLNEY
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76374-0485
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name AIR TRACTOR INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address PO Box 485
Operator City OLNEY
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 76374-0485
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PVT
Departure City Fort Hunter Liggett
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City Fort Hunter Liggett
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 22 2010 11:33AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 6000
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --