N84TX – Bingelis FALCO F.8L – 1997-09-04 NTSB Accident Report

On September 04, 1997, a Bingelis FALCO F.8L (N84TX) was involved in an incident near Watsonville, CA. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's misjudgment of distance and speed on final approach, leading to a landing undershoot.

On September 4, 1997, at 1400 hours Pacific daylight time, an experimental (amateur built) Bingelis Antoni Falco F.8L, N84TX, was substantially damaged when it landed short of runway 20 at the Watsonville, California, airport. The certificated airline transport pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight.

According to the pilot, while on a stabilized final approach, "indicated airspeed 80," the "aircraft settled directly to the ground." He reported that the aircraft "went flat down as though slammed in a subsiding air mass in a matter of seconds." He reported that the wind was light and variable and that the application of engine power did not arrest the descent.

At Salinas, California, 19 miles southeast, the surface...

This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX97LA310. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N84TX.