Camarillo Airpark, Camarillo, California

Location: Camarillo Airpark is located 3 miles west of Camarillo, California.

History:

Camarillo Airpark Today:  Obstructions reported; Unlighted Mountains;


Airport Services and Amenities:  Channel Islands Aviation; SkyBlueAir, Inc.; Sun Air Jets; Western Cardinal, Inc.
Restaurant on the field; Waypoint Cafe; Lodging within 1 mile;

Special Events and Attractions:  Factory Outlet Stores; Commemorative Air Museum on the field;
 
Airport Area Accident History:

Accident occurred Tuesday, September 02, 2008 in Camarillo, CA
Aircraft: Lancair Propjet, registration: N750PJ
Injuries: 2 Minor.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On September 2, 2008, about 1645 Pacific daylight time, a Lancair Propjet single-engine amateur built airplane, N750PJ, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during the initial climb after takeoff from the Camarillo Airport (CMA), Camarillo, California. The commercial pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to Sierra Pacific Holdings Inc. of Malibu, California and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that during the initial climb from runway 26, as the airplane passed about midfield at an altitude of about 1,000 feet above ground level, the engine lost power. The pilot initiated a forced landing and performed a 180-degree turn back to the runway. The pilot landed within the runway overrun area beyond the departure end of the runway. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a dirt pile and nosed over.

Examination of the airplane by an Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the outboard three feet of the left wing was mostly separated and the rudder was partially separated from the vertical stabilizer. Fuel was observed leaking from the airplane at the accident site.
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Accident occurred Sunday, August 31, 2008 in Camarillo, CA
Aircraft: Piper PA-18-150, registration: N7482D
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On August 31, 2008, about 0926 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150, N7482D, sustained substantial damage after impacting terrain while maneuvering at the Camarillo Airport (CMA), Camarillo, California. The commercial pilot, the airplane's sole occupant, was killed. The airplane was operated by Van Wagner Aerial Media of Hollywood, Florida, in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local banner tow flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed CMA about 5 minutes prior to the accident.

According to witnesses who observed the accident, the airplane approached the banner tow pickup area at an elevation of about 20 to 30 feet above ground level. One witness reported that after hooking the banner the airplane pitched up to a 45-degree angle before leveling off at about 200 feet above the ground. The witness stated that the airplane flew straight and level for about 4 to 5 seconds, then suddenly nosed over to about a 30-degree angle before descending and impacting terrain. Another witness, a certified flight instructor, reported that the airplane did not appear to stall, and there was nothing to indicate that the airplane had entered a spin prior to impacting terrain. There was no postcrash fire.
The wreckage was recovered for further examination.
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Accident occurred Thursday, July 10, 2008 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 8/28/2008
Aircraft: Piper PA-18A-150, registration: N7471D
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The pilot stated that he was descending on a 5-mile final approach for the runway when the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. He said that there were no abnormal indications on the engine gauges, and he believed he had exhausted all useable fuel in the two right wing fuel tanks. He immediately switched the fuel selector to the left wing tank. The engine did not regain power, so the pilot verified that the magneto switches were on. According to the pilot, there is no electric starter installed on the engine. The airplane continued to descend, and about 500 feet above the ground, the propeller stopped rotating. The pilot released the banner he was towing, and he made a forced landing in a rough field. The airplane nosed over during the landing rollout, and the left wing's structure was damaged. The pilot reported that the airplane was equipped with three fuel tanks, two in the right wing and one in the left wing. Each tank holds 18 gallons
of fuel, for a total of 54 gallons that provides about a 6-hour endurance. During banner tow operations the fuel burn off rate is about 8 gallons per hour. All fuel tanks were filled to capacity prior to the pilot's 1040 takeoff. The airplane had been airborne about 4 hours when the loss of power occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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Accident occurred Friday, October 26, 2007 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/20/2007
Aircraft: Beech A36, registration: N16SF
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
The airplane impacted the ground during an attempted go-around. The pilot flew the approach at a higher altitude than anticipated but decided to continue. Prior to landing, about 30 feet agl, the local air traffic controller instructed the pilot to perform a go-around. The pilot initiated the procedure with application of full throttle, and he increased the airplane's pitch attitude. When the pilot saw he was gaining altitude, he retracted the landing gear and the flaps. The airplane then stalled and impacted the runway.
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 a go-around, which resulted in a stall.
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Accident occurred Sunday, July 15, 2007 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 5/28/2008
Aircraft: North American F-51D, registration: N51TK
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
The pilot was making his first supervised solo flight in the same airplane that he received 31.5 hours of dual instruction in the 47 days preceding the accident. The flight instructor who provided the training witnessed the accident and reported that the pilot performed a "normal" takeoff followed by a left pattern to runway 26 with a "normal tail low wheel landing." He noted that as the airplane made contact with the ground, the pilot "had not pulled his throttle back to idle, as the noise level of the engine appeared greater than idle." After rolling 50 to 100 feet, the tail appeared to rise slightly, indicating the pilot was applying slight forward stick to pin the airplane to the ground. This was followed quickly by the rapid lowering of the tail to the point where the tailwheel struck the ground with a "loud bang noise." The airplane then "leaped back into the air" and the pilot applied takeoff power. The airplane pitched nose high and rolled left to the inverted position consistent with a torque induced roll. The upper surface of the left wing contacted the ground first, followed by the propeller and the canopy. The instructor expressed the opinion that the pilot "failed to successfully execute a standard go-around procedure after experiencing unexpected flight due to the lowering of the tail prematurely with power still on after touchdown."

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

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during a go-around. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of airplane.

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Accident occurred Sunday, March 25, 2007 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 5/29/2007
Aircraft: Boykin Rotorway Exec 162F, registration: N496SB
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The pilot said that this was his first solo flight in this make and model helicopter. He said he did weight and balance calculations before performing a preflight inspection of the aircraft. The pilot said that he performed a ground taxi, and hovered for 5 to 10 minutes, with pedal turns, to check the control capability. He flew to an open field and noted a slight drift to the left. He returned to the airport and made a normal approach to the helipad followed by a normal flare. The aircraft then started to drift to the left and would not correct with right cyclic; while trying to correct the left drift with right cyclic, the cyclic became limited by his leg and the confines of the cockpit. During an attempted go around, the pilot said that his airspeed had decreased to zero, and his rotor RPM had dropped. He said the helicopter began to descend and landed hard on the left forward skid. Subsequently the helicopter rolled onto its left side.

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

The pilot's failure to maintain main rotor RPM resulting in an uncontrolled descent to a hard landing. A contributing factor was his lack of experience in make and model of aircraft.

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Accident occurred Thursday, March 01, 2007 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 5/29/2007
Aircraft: Monocoupe 110, registration: N18642
Injuries: 2 Minor.
The airplane ground looped and nosed over while landing. The pilot said that during the landing rollout, directional control of the airplane was lost and the left wing tip impacted the runway. The left main landing gear then failed inboard, which resulted in a ground loop and the airplane coming to rest inverted. 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 directional control during the landing rollout that resulted in a ground loop.

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Accident occurred Tuesday, July 18, 2006 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/31/2006
Aircraft: Cessna 177RG, registration: N34480
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The pilot made an inadvertent gear-up landing, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. While on final approach, the pilot adjusted the propeller and the mixture for landing; he failed to confirm the position of the landing gear. As the airplane was in the landing flare, with the landing gear in the retracted position, the tower controller instructed the pilot to abort the landing. The propeller struck the runway surface before the pilot could recover, and the airplane subsequently contacted the runway surface. Following the accident, an airplane mechanic at the airport preformed a cursory exam of the landing gear system. He noted no anomalies; the audible gear warning horn sounded when the respective circuit breaker was pulled.

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

the pilot's failure to extended the landing gear and verify the proper landing gear configuration prior to landing, resulting in a gear-up landing.

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Accident occurred Sunday, June 11, 2006 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 4/25/2007
Aircraft: Cessna 152, registration: N452WC
Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 Uninjured.
The airplane experienced a loss of engine power and nosed over during a forced landing. The airplane departed with full fuel in both wing tanks. About 45 minutes into the training flight, the certified flight instructor (CFI) began a demonstration of a simulated emergency landing approach. The CFI configured the airplane for the maneuver, while the student read the engine troubleshooting checklist aloud. As part of the maneuver he pushed the throttle control knob forward every altitude loss of 500 feet in an attempt to temporarily increase revolutions per minute (rpm) and "clear" the throttle. The instructor said he had the carburetor heat control in the full on position during the entire maneuver and it ended up in the off position during the ground impact and nose over. While the airplane was about 1,500 feet msl and on the simulated base leg of a traffic pattern, the CFI pushed the throttle forward. The engine did not respond normally and sounded as
though it was winding up. After several seconds, the engine quit and the propeller stopped. He attempted to restart the engine by using the engine troubleshooting checklist, but it failed to respond. The airplane touched down in a soft dirt field and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. Personnel that recovered the wreckage shortly after the accident stated that they found 15 to 20 gallons of fuel in the wing tanks and the carburetor heat control in the off position. The outside air and dew point temperatures around of the time of the accident were applied to an industry Carburetor Icing Probability Chart. Both recorded temperatures were within the "serious icing at glide power" portion of the chart. With the engine still mounted in the airframe, investigators ran the engine for several minutes at various rpm settings and noted no anomalies. No evidence was found of pre-accident mechanical malfunctions during the examination of the engine and airframe.

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

a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the soft terrain encountered during the emergency landing.

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Accident occurred Tuesday, January 10, 2006 in Camarillo, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 5/30/2006
Aircraft: Huntington KIS, registration: N506RJ
Injuries: 1 Serious.
The experimental airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power in the takeoff initial climb, and collided with obstacles and terrain during an emergency landing in an open field to the west of the airport. The pilot stated that he was taking the newly constructed airplane for its second flight. The engine that was installed in the airplane was a automotive Subaru EJ20. He took off from runway 26 and was climbing at 90 mph. Everything seemed normal and then he noticed that his airspeed was 60 mph and the engine sound had decreased. There were no pops or abnormal engine sounds associated with the decrease in airspeed and the engine rpm was down at 1,700 instead of the normal 6,000. The pilot immediately manipulated the throttle to ensure it was fully opened, he then turned the ignition switch off and on in an attempt to reset the electronic engine control. Both actions failed to regain full power of the engine. He notified the tower that he had lost
engine power. He decided to land in a field that was off the end of the runway. He was flying at 60 mph and had a rate of descent of a couple of hundred feet per minute. He made an forced landing into the field and was assisted by emergency responders shortly afterwards. The pilot said that the Subaru engine has a reduced power mode intended to operate the engine at a substantially reduced power output if an engine problem was detected by the engine electronic control system computer. He thinks that the engine switched to this low power mode shortly after takeoff. The method he knew of to correct this situation was to turn the ignition off then back on and this should have cleared the fault and allowed the engine to resume normal power output. The underlying reason for the engine going to the reduced power mode was not determined.

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

a partial loss of engine power due to the engine's electronic control system reverting to a designed reduced power mode of operation.
Camarillo Airpark Video: