Apple Valley Airport, Apple Valley, CA

Location: The Apple Valley Airport is located 3 miles north of Apple Valley, California.

History:

Apple Valley Airport Today:  Intensive flight training; aerobatics; helicopter operations; parachuting; ultralights; weight restrictions on aircraft;




Airport Services and Amenities:  Apple Valley Aviation; Midfield Aviation; Rental cars available; Restaurant on the field; Leonard's Airport Cafe;

Special Events and Attractions: Science Technology Center;

Airport Area Accident History:
Accident occurred Sunday, November 05, 2006 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 5/29/2007
Aircraft: Euro copter France AS350B3, registration: N109HP
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
The helicopter landed hard during a practice hover autorotation. The purpose of the flight was for the commercial pilot to receive training from the certificated flight instructor(CFI). The flight consisted of the commercial pilot performing about five straight-in practice autorotation maneuvers, where the maneuver was performed by initially lowering the collective control. After the flight, the commercial pilot configured the helicopter in a hover taxi to a concrete parking area, where the flight was to terminate. As the helicopter became aligned with the intended parking area it remained in a hover about 3 feet above ground level (agl). The CFI announced "hovering auto" and subsequently rolled the throttle to the idle position. The commercial pilot reacted by abruptly lowering the collective to the down position. As soon as the CFI perceived that the commercial pilot had pushed the collective downward, he attempted to raise it. The helicopter stuck
the ground hard in a level attitude. The CFI reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter prior to impact. According to the helicopter's flight manual, the first instruction in an autorotation landing from hover is to "not reduce collective pitch."

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

the pilot's improper use of the collective control during a practice hover autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was the certificated flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the maneuver.

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Accident occurred Saturday, November 12, 2005 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 2/28/2006
Aircraft: Vans Aircraft RV-4, registration: N14GK
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The pilot reported that he struck power wires during an attempted forced landing after a loss of engine power. About 12 to 15 minutes after departure the airplane experienced a partial loss of power and the pilot decided to make an emergency landing on a dirt road. Throughout the descent the engine would momentarily regain then lose power repeatedly. On short final approach, the engine responded and the pilot applied full power. At that moment the aircraft struck the power lines while attempting to climb out. The pilot was able to recover but noticed a 2-foot section of his left wing had been torn off. The pilot was able to maneuver and land at a nearby airport approximately 15 minutes later. The pilot reported that he has not been able to resolve the reason for the engine power loss. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunction of the engine.


The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

a partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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Accident occurred Saturday, June 18, 2005 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 4/25/2007
Aircraft: Beechcraft K35, registration: N3067C
Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 Uninjured.
The airplane's wing collided with a post during a forced landing on a road after a loss of engine power, and the airplane went into a ditch. The pilot was on a cross-country flight when the engine began sputtering. The pilot thought that he had a fuel problem. The fuel pressure began to vary. The pilot switched fuel tanks, turned on the auxiliary fuel pump, and richened the mixture. He noted that the fuel flow stabilized briefly, and then it started varying again. Shortly thereafter, the engine quit, and the pilot made a forced landing on a dirt road. At that time, he turned the fuel pump off, and made the landing with the gear down and flaps extended. The airplane touched down successfully on the main landing gear. During the rollout, a wing clipped a metal post, which spun the airplane into a ditch. The nose wheel collapsed, and the wing sustained substantial damage. Recovery personnel drained 15 gallons of fuel from each of the main wing tanks. They
found no fuel in the auxiliary fuel tanks, which can contain a maximum of 19 gallons of usable fuel according to the manufacturer's systems description. Post accident examination revealed that the fuel selector was in the auxiliary fuel tank position. The fuel boost pump was in the emergency or HI position. A fuel supply was plumbed into the left wing fuel inlet. The engine was started, and it ran smoothly at various power settings for 15 minutes, including several times at full power. The engine displayed good response to throttle movements and exhibited no hesitation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

fuel starvation due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel system management and failure to set the fuel selector valve to a tank containing fuel. A factor was the ditch that the aircraft encountered.

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Accident occurred Friday, November 12, 2004 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/28/2006
Aircraft: Cessna 210, registration: N5LT
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
The engine lost power on final approach and the airplane's nose landing gear struck a chain link fence about 1,000 feet from the approach end of the runway. The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to both look at the progress of work at a construction site and to perform a post maintenance test flight following maintenance on the landing gear. He said he conducted a thorough preflight inspection that included checking the fuel for water contamination. In the pilot's written statement he reported that 18 gallons of fuel was in the left fuel tank and 12 gallons of fuel was in the right fuel tank; however, he did not describe how he determined the amount of fuel. During the hour-long flight, the pilot maneuvered the airplane around the construction site at 6,500 feet mean sea level (msl), and as he returned to the airport he switched to the right fuel tank, and cycled the gear several times. After entering the airport environment, the pilot
did two touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. During the third touch-and-go landing, the runway direction was switched due to a wind shift. After takeoff, the pilot exited the pattern and climbed to 5,500 feet msl to set up for a full stop landing. A slower airplane was landing in front of him, and he slowed his airplane down to follow it while he conducted the before landing checklist, which included switching to the fullest fuel tank (right). The slower airplane turned base, and the pilot extended his pattern to allow for adequate spacing for landing. While on final approach with the airplane configured at an airspeed of 80 knots, he added another 10 degrees of flaps (for a total of 20 degrees flaps down), and reduced the power. He noted that the airplane was sinking and attempted to apply power to maintain the airplane's glide path. The pilot observed that the engine was not generating power, pulled back on the yoke to stop the descent rate, and
switched to the left fuel tank. He advanced the throttle full forward, with no response from the engine, and switched back to the right fuel tank. The pilot set up for an off-airport forced landing and was in the flare when the nose landing gear struck a fence. A sheriff's deputy arrived on-scene, and noted no sound of liquid in the fuel tanks when he moved the wings, an indication that the fuel tanks were empty. He did observe a trickle of fuel near the wing roots. A Federal Aviation Administration principal maintenance inspector recovered a total of 7.5 gallons of fuel from the right fuel tank and 1.5 gallons of fuel from the left fuel tank. According to the airplane manufacturer, the airplane holds 32.5 gallons of fuel in each wing, with 5 gallons of fuel per wing unusable in normal flight maneuvers. At 2,500 feet msl, with 2,450 rpm's (revolutions per minute), fuel burn is 14.2 gallons of fuel per hour. At a gross weight of 2,900 pounds on a
standard day the fuel used during the takeoff and climb is 2.0 gallons.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

loss of engine power due to fuel starvation/exhaustion, which was a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and failure to ensure there was enough fuel onboard for the flight.

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Accident occurred Sunday, July 11, 2004 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 4/25/2006
Aircraft: North American T28B, registration: N5832X
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
The airplane collided with the terrain following an in-flight loss of control. The pilot completed a series of high speed low altitude passes down runway 26. He was executing another pass, but this time, he was flying at a low speed in a nose high attitude with the gear down and flaps set to 10 degrees. The pilot said that as he neared the end of the runway he initiated a climb by increasing the nose pitch attitude, then adding power; however, the airplane descended to the ground. According to witnesses, as the pilot approached the departure end of the runway in a slow flight attitude the nose of the airplane continued to pitch up. The aircraft continued to fly for a short time in a near stall attitude. The engine rpm increased about 3 seconds prior to impact. The airplane impacted the ground with the main wheels, the nose wheel sheared off, and the airplane came to rest on its nose with the tail up in the air. The pilot said there were no mechanical
malfunctions or failures.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during the conclusion of a low pass, which led to a stall/mush.

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Accident occurred Saturday, January 04, 2003 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/28/2004
Aircraft: Farmer R B DA5-A, registration: N7053U
Injuries: 1 Serious.
The amateur built experimental airplane experienced a loss of engine power during cruise flight and collided with a berm during a forced landing. About 10 minutes after departure, with the airplane cruising about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), the engine started running roughly. The engine rpm began to drop and the propeller eventually came to a stop. The pilot opted to land next to the highway in open desert. During the landing roll out the nose wheel impacted a berm and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted. While examining the engine after the accident occurred, the pilot found that the number 1 and 3 cylinders showed evidence of detonation. He noted that the pistons were swollen, which he thought was a result of excessive heat from the detonation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

the detonation of the number 1 and 3 cylinders and the subsequent over temperature of those cylinders and their corresponding pistons.

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Accident occurred Friday, May 18, 2001 in Apple Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 1/23/2002
Aircraft: Luscombe 11A, registration: N1606B
Injuries: 2 Minor.
The airplane made a forced landing on a dirt road due to a loss of engine power. The landing gear was sheared off, and both wings were damaged on the landing rollout. The personal cross-country flight had departed about 2.5 hours prior to the accident. Responding personnel looked in the fuel tanks, and the surrounding area, and did not see or smell any fuel.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The pilot's fuel mismanagement, which led to fuel exhaustion, a loss of engine power, and subsequent landing on unsuitable terrain.


Apple Valley Airport Approach / Landing: