Dirt Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Baker, California 92309
Tuesady, November 15, 2011 15:30 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he was part of a flight of three airplanes that had taken off from a nearby private dirt airstrip about 18 miles from the accident location. The pilots in the flight intended to land their airplanes in a clear area of a field. They overflew the intended 1,000-foot-long landing area to make sure it was clear. The accident pilot landed second, and, nearing the touchdown, noted that the wind was calm, but with periods of variability. He stated that a temporary tailwind of about 5 knots caused a higher ground speed on touchdown than he expected. As the airplane neared the end of the landing area, the pilot observed that the airplane had too much speed to stop in the remaining distance and an aborted landing was no longer possible. The pilot stated that he entered a left turn and let it progress to a controlled ground loop to avoid overrunning the landing area. The right wing hit a raised dirt area, and the right wing tip and spar, right aileron, and right landing gear and wheel were damaged. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's delayed decision to perform an aborted landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/15/2011
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Baker
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92309
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 350231N
Event Location Longitude 1161810W
Event Location Airport Dirt Strip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID na
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 1242
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 245
Weather Observation Facility ID PMD
Elevation of weather observation facility 2543
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 19
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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) 29408
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP Regional Operations Ce
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 1 2012 1:26PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N497AC
NTSB Number WPR12CA043
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 AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT
Aircraft Model 7GCAA
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 497-2005
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 147
Airframe Hours 683
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SWEST PROPERTIES LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2710 THOMES AVE STE 340
Aircraft Owner City CHEYENNE
Aircraft Owner State WY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 82001-3029
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name William McClellan
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Carson City
Operator State NV
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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 na
Departure City Llano
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code na
Destination City Baker
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 20 2011 5:57PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 1000
Runway Width 1000
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --