Culver LFA accident near Ione, California, September 26, 2000
On September 26, 2000, a Culver LFA, registered N37820, was destroyed in an accident near Ione, California (Howard Private Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the right brake during the landing roll resulting in loss of directional control and subsequent nose over of the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 26, 2000
- Place
- Ione, California · Howard Private Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Culver LFA · all LFAs on the register
- Registration
- N37820 · no longer on the register · serial 354
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After landing on a private dirt/gravel airstrip the airplane veered off the right side of the ruway. The airplane collided with a fence and nosed over inverted. The pilot reported the airplane's inability to be straightened with the use of left rudder, brake, and tail wheel steering. Post accident examination of the brakes revealed a broken rotor disk on the right main landing gear.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,277 hours in all; 230 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 15,500 as pilot in command; 199 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 24, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,004 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 20, 2000; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,305 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Franklin 4 AC-199 E3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Howard Airport CA at 1:15 am
- Destination: CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 067, 1,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from SMF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.