Aviat A-1A accident near Woodlake, California, October 7, 2006
On October 7, 2006, a Aviat A-1A, registered N40AW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Woodlake, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the collapse of the landing gear during the landing roll out due to an encounter with rough uneven terrain. Also causal was the pilot's in-flight decision to land on the unsuitable mountainous uneven terrain with hidden obstructions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 7, 2006
- Place
- Woodlake, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aviat A-1A
- Registration
- N40AW · registry record · serial 1452
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing rollout, the left main landing gear wheel dropped into a hole and the landing gear collapsed, which caused structural damage to the left wing and fuselage of the airplane. The pilot said he was flying in a mountain area looking for spots to conduct a ground training exercise for a group with which he is associated. The pilot decided to land. The landing area chosen by the pilot was a meadow on top of a mountain, with 2-foot-tall grass that masked the roughness of the terrain and holes that were in the ground. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 36,000 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VIS Visalia CA at 2:30 am
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N40AW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.