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LAX95LA186

1995-05-11 · RICHVALE, California, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the pilot's failure to maintain a glidepath adequate to avoid an obstacle, and his inadequate compensation for the wind.

Factual narrative

On May 11, 1995, at 1400 Pacific daylight time (PDT), a Grumman 164A, N8507H, operated by AVAG, Inc., collided with a truck while landing at the Cherokee (uncontrolled) airstrip near Richvale, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the agricultural flight. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the commercial pilot received minor injuries. The flight originated from Richvale, California, at 1350 PDT. According to the pilot, while coming in for a landing on runway 18, the airplane was "to low and to slow," and it "started to mush." The pilot continued with the approach, and the airplane collided with a "bobtail" truck. At the time, the wind was from 180 degrees at 15 knots. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT APPROACHING RUNWAY 18 AT THE AIRSTRIP, THE AIRPLANE WAS TOO LOW AND TOO SLOW AND IT STARTED TO MUSH. THE PILOT CONTINUED WITH THE APPROACH AND LANDING, AND THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH A 'BOBTAIL' TRUCK. AT THE TIME, THE WIND WAS FROM 180 DEGREES AT 15 KNOTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1995_LAX95LA186.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.