Dec. 3, Auburn, Calif. / Questair Venture

At 17:15 PST, an amateur-built Questair Venture came to rest inverted on runway 25 following a landing accident at the Auburn airport. The pilot/owner suffered serious injuries. The IFR flight originated from McMinnville, Ore., but the pilot canceled the IFR flight plan before arriving at Auburn. A weather reporting station about 60 miles away reported winds from 340 at 14, gusting to 18. A witness said the Questair landed approximately halfway down the runway, but then he lost sight of it. Then a pilot in the pattern reported the accident at the departure end of runway 25. The ground witness reported the winds were only 4 to 5 knots, but the pilot said he had to hold a significant crab until he was very close to the ground.