Monterey Peninsula Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Monterey, California 93940
Monday, April 28, 2014 10:40 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The sport pilot landed the airplane and was taxiing to his hangar. He maneuvered the airplane to position it for a push back when he was confused by the engine controls and added power instead of reducing power. The airplane taxied off the movement area, down into a ditch colliding with terrain. The firewall and forward fuselage sustained substantial damage during the impact sequence. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The sport pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during taxi as a result of improperly manipulating the engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/28/2014
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1040
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Monterey
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93940
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 363509N
Event Location Longitude 1215042W
Event Location Airport MONTEREY PENINSULA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MRY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 281
Airport Elevation 257
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1654 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 310
Weather Observation Facility ID KMRY
Elevation of weather observation facility 164
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.22
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KMRY 281654Z 30005KT 7SM CLR 15/05 A3022 RMK
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) 32766
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC-LA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 4 2014 6:18PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N923LA
NTSB Number WPR14CA175
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 EVEKTOR-AEROTECHNIK AS
Aircraft Model SPORTSTAR PLUS
Aircraft Series Identifier NO SERIES
Aircraft Serial Number 20070923
Certified Max Gross Weight 1268
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2200
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name M F N K LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City CARMEL
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 939237970
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Michael Fletcher
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City CARMEL
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 939237970
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MRY
Departure City Monterey
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code MRY
Destination City Monterey
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 4 2014 6:18PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28L
Runway Length 7616
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --