Furnace Creek Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Furnace Creek, California 92328
Saturday, December 10, 2011 13:45 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he flared too high, and the airplane landed hard and bounced. The airplane then exited the left side of the runway and nosed over after the nose landing gear collapsed and separated. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing. The pilot stated that he added power during the bounce, but decided to abort the attempted go-around. The pilot further stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper landing flare, inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, and loss of directional control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/10/2011
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Furnace Creek
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92328
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 362738N
Event Location Longitude 1165247W
Event Location Airport Furnace Creek Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID L06
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 -210
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
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) 29516
NTSB Notification Source Regional 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 Feb 10 2012 1:41PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N28870
NTSB Number WPR12CA061
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 GRUMMAN
Aircraft Model AA5
Aircraft Series Identifier B
Aircraft Serial Number AA5B0875
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 Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Oct 11 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3726
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Santa Barbara Flying Club
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Goleta
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93116
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Donald S Slutzky
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Santa Barbara
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 93105
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 SBA
Departure City Santa Barbara
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code L06
Destination City Furnace Creek
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2012 6:46PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 3065
Runway Width 70
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --