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LAX06CA226

2006-07-06 · Groveland, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport E45

N157ST has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-46-600TP, built 2023), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the misjudged flare by the pilot that resulted in a hard bounced landing, and his failure to maintain directional control during the attempted recovery.

Factual narrative

On July 6, 2006, at 1930 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Barnard RV-6, N157ST, veered off runway 9 during a bounced landing recovery and impacted trees at Pine Mountain Lake, Groveland, California. The owner/pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, as a cross-country flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot and one passenger were not injured, and there were no ground injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed San Carlos Airport, San Carlos, California, at 1845. According to the pilot's written statement, he made a straight-in approach for runway 9 and miscalculated the flare. The airplane landed hard and bounced into the air. He added full power in an attempt to abort the landing; however, the airplane rolled to the left due to "P-factor torque." The airplane impacted the taxiway, slid down an embankment, and came to rest between two small trees. A deputy from Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department reported that the airplane came to rest 50 yards from the runway against a tree in the backyard of a residence. He located a skid mark on the taxiway surface, and noted that a portion of the airport perimeter fence had separated and was in the wreckage path. A pilot/witness who was airborne at the time reported that after the airplane touched down on the runway the right wing lifted into the air, which turned the airplane 90 degrees to the left. The airplane departed the runway, went through the airport perimeter fence, and hit a tree. The airplane veered off the runway during a bounced landing recovery, went through an airport perimeter fence, and collided with trees in a residential backyard. The pilot reported that he miscalculated the landing flare. The airplane landed hard and bounced into the air. The pilot added full power to abort the landing, but did not compensate for the p-factor. The airplane turned to the left, impacted the runway, traversed through the airport perimeter fence, and down an embankment where it came to rest in a residential backyard between trees. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2006_LAX06CA226.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.