- Date
- November 20, 1982, 11:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Paula, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N115EZTifft-V Varieze
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 20, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19821120070359A
- Case key
- 72541
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During takeoff the acft did not become airborne until reaching the end of the rwy. After flying under the first set of wires the left main gear struck the roof of a small house off the east end of the field, taking down a tv antenna. The acft engaged heavy commercial tv coax which lodged between the nose cone & canard turning the acft approximately 180 deg. The plt stated the wind shifted during the takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N115EZ
- Reported as
- Tifft-V Varieze
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 115
- Airframe hours
- 628
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C2C, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bruce A. Tifft
- Registered owner
- Bruce A. Tifft
- Departed
- SZP · Santa Paula, CA
- Destination
- SZP · Santa Paula, CA
- Airport
- SZP · Santa Paula, runway 4, 2,650 × 45 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 7,002 total · 6,900 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Temperature
- 154 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.