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Atlas / NTSB / WPR21LA343

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR21LA343

2021-08-30 Fullerton, California, United States Airport · FUL Minor 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to monitor the environment and maintain a proper glidepath on approach which, resulted in a collision with the airport perimeter fence.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, while accomplishing a straight in approach to land, he was slowing the airplane down, and was not paying attention to an obstacle ahead when he extended the landing gear and flaps at the last moment. The airplane subsequently struck the airport perimeter fence and then collided with terrain before coming to rest on the runway. The wings and fuselage were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_WPR21LA343.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.