Maule MT-7-235 N3115U
17 April 2007 · Concord, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 17 April 2007 at about 22:50 local time, a Maule MT-7-235 registered N3115U was involved in an accident near Concord, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 22:50
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Concord, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Buchanan Field (CCR)
- Coordinates
- 37.9897, -122.0569
- Aircraft
- Maule MT-7-235
- Registration
- N3115U
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Morgan Hill → Concord
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA07CA104
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing, resulting in a ground loop/swerve and collapse of the nose landing gear. A contributing factor was the gusty wind condition.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that the tower informed him the winds were from 250 degrees at 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. He aborted his first approach to runway 19R. On the second approach, he had "good rudder and aileron control at the 80 mph approach speed." At approximately 40 feet above ground level (agl), he encountered "a strong wind shear" and the airplane dropped to an altitude of 10 feet agl. The pilot added power and landed the airplane on the runway. At that time, a "very strong gust of wind" lifted the right wing and pushed the airplane towards the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to regain control, however, he was not successful, and the airplane continued to the left "into a ground loop off of the runway." The nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest nose down. The recorded winds at the airport near the time of the accident were from 260 degrees at 24 knots with gusts to 30 knots.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Maule MT-7 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 2006 | Maule MT-7 | Ponca, Arkansas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Mar 2008 | Maule MT-7-235 | Leonardtown, Maryland, United States | Presidential Airways | No injuries | - |
| 26 May 2006 | Maule MT-7-235 | Flushing, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Jul 2008 | Maule MT-7-235 | Rome, Georgia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Sep 2005 | Maule MT-7-235 | Guyton, Georgia, United States | William D McCall | No injuries | - |
| 14 Sep 2005 | Maule MT-7-260 | Decatur, Indiana, United States | Dennis Scheumann | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jun 2007 | Piper PA-28-180 | Rosamond, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Jul 2007 | Schempp-Hirth VENTUS-2C | Bridgeport, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 22 May 2007 | Schweizer SGS2-33A | Los Alamitos, California, United States | Civil Air Patrol - California Wing | No injuries | - |
| 25 May 2007 | Westland WASP HAS MK1 | Ramona, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Jul 2007 | Cessna 152 | Tracy, California, United States | California Airways | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 May 2007 | Skygear SKYGEAR | Chino, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |