Event LAX96LA079

Factual narrative

On December 26, 1995, at 1000 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 182Q, N97196, nosed over following a landing overrun at the Fallbrook, California, airport. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was on a personal cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the operation. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. The certificated private pilot and two passengers were not injured. The flight originated at Long Beach, California, on the day of the accident at 0920 as a flight to Fallbrook. The pilot was interviewed by telephone on the day of the accident. He reported that after arriving over the airport he was unsuccessful in contacting anyone on the ground over the CTAF for an airport advisory. After the accident he noticed the flight information publication he was using was out-of-date and did not have the correct CTAF published. The pilot said he could find no means for determining the wind direction and he elected to land on runway 18. He could not stop the aircraft and it overran the departure end of the runway, encountered a rough surface, and nosed over. The pilot said that after the accident it was clear that the he had unknowingly landed downwind with a 15-knot tail wind. Ground witnesses reported to FAA inspectors that the aircraft was very fast and touched down about 1,000 feet down the 2,160-foot-long runway. The witnesses stated that the winds had been steady from the north at 10 to 15 knots all morning. After arriving over the airport, the pilot was unsuccessful in obtaining an airport advisory by using the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) from a flight information publication that was in his possession. (After the accident, he noticed the publication was out-of-date and did not have the correct CTAF published.) The pilot said he could find no means for determining the wind direction, and he elected to land on runway 18. During the landing roll, he was unable to stop the aircraft on the remaining runway, and it overran the departure end, encountered a rough surface, and nosed over. The pilot said that after the accident, he realized he had unknowingly landed downwind with a 15-knot tail wind. Ground witnesses reported that the aircraft was very fast and had touched down about 1,000 feet down the 2,160-foot-long runway. The witnesses also stated that the winds had been steady from the north at 10 to 15 knots all morning. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12