NTSB Identification: GAA17CA171
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, March 01, 2017 in Mercey Hot Springs, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/22/2017
Aircraft: Smith Douglas J. Sonex, registration: N801SX
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The sport pilot reported that he was landing on an airfield and overflew the runway multiple times searching for a wind sock. He watched another airplane land to the south, and he made his approach to the south also. He reported that his altitude was too high during his first approach, so he aborted the landing. He asserted that, “This should have alerted me that there was a tailwind.” He flew one traffic pattern and made a second approach with the power at idle and full flaps. He established his approach, but the airplane sank quickly and touched down short of the runway and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the canopy, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
According to the Airport Facility Directory, the airfield was equipped with a wind indicator. However, no wind indicator could be located on or near the airfield by the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The sport pilot’s unstabilized approach with a tailwind, which resulted in touchdown short of the runway and a subsequent nose-over.
Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office: Fresno, California
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, March 01, 2017 in Mercey Hot Springs, CA
Aircraft: Smith Douglas J. Sonex, registration: N801SX
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The sport pilot reported that he was landing to an airfield and over flew the runway multiple times in search of a wind sock. He watched another airplane land to the south and he made his approach to the south also. He reported that his altitude was too high during his first approach and aborted the landing. He asserted that, "This should have alerted me that there was a tail wind." He flew one traffic pattern and made a second approach with the power at idle and full flaps. He established his approach but the airplane sank quickly and touched down short of the runway and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the canopy, the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
According to the Airport Facility Directory, the airfield is equipped with a wind indicator. However, no wind indicator could be located on or near the airfield by the NTSB investigator-in-charge.
A 78-year-old amateur sport pilot from Sonoma walked away from a small plane crash in a remote part of Fresno County on Wednesday, apparently misjudging the approach to the runway.
“He came up a little bit short,” said Tony Botti of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Botti said the plane flipped over, but the pilot walked away and refused medical treatment. “He just had a scratch to his forehead, and was a little bit sore in his shoulder.”
Roderick Rennie, the pilot, called the Index-Tribune on Thursday to report the extent of his injuries as “a bruise, probably from the shoulder harness.” He said he was “what they call a sport pilot,” and had been flying for about four years. This was his second plane – and first accident.
Rennie is a member of the Liberty Field Flyers, a Petaluma-based flying club for sport and ultra-light aircraft. He said they had planned a trip to the remote Mercey Hot Springs resort several months ago, but it was cancelled by weather.
On Wednesday morning, three planes took off from Petaluma Municipal Airport on a club “fly-out” headed for the remote Mercey Hot Springs next to Little Panoche Road, about 60 miles west of Fresno, and 150 miles by air from Petaluma. Rennie was at the controls of his yellow two-seater Sonex high-performance plane.
“It’s just a dirt strip, it’s not an airport,” said Rennie. “There’s no windsock. When I was coming in I could feel quite a bit of tail wind and some gusts. It was a strange strip and narrow and dirt, I got too slow. And there was a gust, and I lost altitude.” He came down just a few feet short of the runway.
“The wheels hit soft ground before the start of the airstrip, and the wheels just dug in,” said Rennie. The small plane flipped over and landed upside down, with Rennie pinned inside, still in the pilot seat. “I was very lucky,” said Rennie. “I was able to crawl up from underneath.”
His rough landing set off a beacon alerting authorities of a potential accident. It alerted the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and they responded at once, said Rennie. “They were right on it. They had a helicopter, medics – I was impressed with the response.”
“He was the only person on the plane and fortunate to walk away,” said Botti. The FAA and NTSB were notified.
Rennie caught a ride back to Petaluma from another club member. Though he thought the plane had too much damage to be salvaged, he said, “The insurance company will decide whether it’s salvageable or not.”
Rennie, who lives with his wife on Moon Mountain Road north of Sonoma, said many in the flying club are in an older age bracket. “That’s a common thing – the younger ones all on their phones.”
Mercey Hot Springs is a small private resort and unincorporated community in the Panoche Valley. It caters to family and single travelers, with a number of RV camping places, cabins and hot springs facilities.
Though it is listed as officially closed, the packed dirt runway is 2100 feet long and 20 feet wide. According to shortfield.com, the hot springs manager said on that website “if a pilot hears a strange noise or wants to land somewhere to check anything else out on his airplane, that pilot is welcome to land at Mercey Hot Springs and make sure the aircraft is okay. While you’re there if you’d like to have a soak or camp overnight to calm your nerves, you are more than welcome to do so.”
Asked whether he intended to keep up flying, Rennie paused. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll think about it. I’m 78, how long am I going to keep doing this? I might take up something else – not golf, but something a little closer to the ground.
“It was a fun four years flying, I’ll tell you that.”
Source: http://www.sonomanews.com
“He came up a little bit short,” said Tony Botti of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Botti said the plane flipped over, but the pilot – flying a Sonex plane – walked away and refused medical treatment. “He just had a scratch to his forehead, and was a little bit sore in his shoulder.”
The man, whose name was not released, told responding deputies that he took off earlier that day from Petaluma. He was apparently destined to Mercey Hot Springs, a small private resort and unincorporated community in the Panoche Valley, about 60 miles southwest of Fresno.
“He was the only person on the plane and fortunate to walk away,” said Botti. The FAA and NTSB were notified.
Source: http://www.sonomanews.com
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. - A 78-year-old Sonoma man crashed his Sonex plane near Coalinga on Wednesday, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office said.
The Sheriff's Office responded around 11:30 a.m. to the 62000 block of Little Panoche Road near Mercy Hot Springs regarding a plane crash.
The man lost control of his Sonex plane while attempting to land on the Mercy Hot Spring airstrip, and it flipped over, the Sheriff's Office said.
The pilot suffered only minor injuries to his shoulder and face and refused medical attention.
He was the only person on the plane.
Source: http://www.yourcentralvalley.com
The 78-year-old man, whose name was not released, was trying to land at the Mercey Hot Springs resort’s airstrip west of Interstate Highway 5 near Firebaugh when the plane flipped over.
The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the Sonex plane, suffered minor injuries to his shoulder and face and refused medical treatment, sheriff’s officials said.
Source: http://kron4.com
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