Palo Alto Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palo Alto, California 94303
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 14:10 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during his descent to land, he observed the windsock and made a mental note to maintain aileron correction for the crosswind. As the airplane reached about 35-40 feet above the runway, the pilot reduced power to idle and at an altitude of 2 feet he initiated the landing flare. The stall warning horn sounded and the nose of the airplane started to veer to the left. After the airplane touched down, the pilot applied right rudder and the airplane started to veer off to the right. The airplane exited the right side of the runway and struck a pipe that was protruding from the ground, substantially damaging the nose gear and firewall. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/8/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1410
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Palo Alto
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94303
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372740N
Event Location Longitude 1220654W
Event Location Airport Palo Alto Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KPAO
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 3
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1411 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KPAO
Elevation of weather observation facility 3
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
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) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KPAO 082111Z 36012KT 15SM FEW030 21/12 A2997
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) 28603
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 Jun 24 2011 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9849L
NTSB Number WPR11CA259
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 CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172P
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17276637
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Mar 6 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32
Airframe Hours 10428
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Paul Durdik
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City FOSTER CITY
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94404-2817
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Mitchell D.P. Clement
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City East Palo Alto
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 94303
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 KMAE
Departure City Madera
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1305
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code KPAO
Destination City Palo Alto
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 24 2011 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 2443
Runway Width 70
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --