Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Hollister Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hollister, California 95023
Tuesady, February 14, 2012 13:40 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was preparing the airplane for a transpacific flight. The day before the accident, he conducted two test flights, and he noted that, during each flight, the oil temperature for the right engine was slightly higher than expected but that it remained within normal operating limitations. On the day of the accident, he decided to perform another test flight and brought a mechanic to assist with identifying any engine issues. The pilot reported that, just after liftoff, the airplane’s right wing dropped, which he believed was due to a loss of right engine power. The pilot decided to reduce the left engine’s power in an attempt to return the airplane to a wings-level attitude. The airplane then rolled left and pitched nose down. The airplane landed hard in a left-wing-low attitude, and the left main landing gear tire ruptured. The pilot was unable to maintain directional control of the airplane, which subsequently ground looped, departed the runway surface, and came to rest in a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing tip and aileron. The mechanic-passenger reported that the pilot did not align the airplane with the runway centerline during the takeoff, and, as a result, when the tailwheel lifted, the airplane veered left. As the pilot attempted to realign the airplane with the runway centerline, the airplane became airborne in a left-wing-high configuration. The airplane lifted off and began to climb and then the nose and left wing dropped. The mechanic reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures to the right engine that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot, in attempting to maintain runway alignment and a wings-level attitude, failed to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a subsequent hard landing, loss of directional control, and ground loop.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/14/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1340 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Hollister |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95023 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 365336N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1212437W |
| Event Location Airport | Hollister Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CHV |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 230 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CVH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 230 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2900 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.1 |
| 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) | 33063 |
| 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 | Aug 7 2014 1:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | colg-i |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | VH-NWB |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA104 |
| 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 | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | G18 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | S |
| Aircraft Serial Number | BA-548 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 10100 |
| 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 | 10 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 18 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7790 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Neville Scott Pringle |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sydney |
| Aircraft Owner State | FN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | AS |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 2020 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Grant M. Burley |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Sydney |
| Operator State | FN |
| Operator Country | AS |
| Operator Zip code | 2020 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| 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 | CHV |
| Departure City | Hollister |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1335 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | CHV |
| Destination City | Hollister |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 7 2014 1:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | colg-i |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 31 |
| Runway Length | 6350 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |