- Date
- March 30, 1983, 22:40 local (Mar 31, 1983, 06:40 UTC)
- Place
- Georgetown, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9548SChampion 7ECA
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830331010399A
- Case key
- 23568
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
The acft collided with a mountainside at the 3500 ft level in a 45 degree nose down attitude after colliding with a 30 ft tree during IMC weather on a dark night. There is no record that the plt received a weather briefing. The pilot was not instrument rated and no flt plan was filed. Witnesses in the accident area said the night was stormy with rain. There were no radio communications with the flt but the acft radio was tuned to the emergency frequency of 121.5 mhz. The integrity and continuity of all controls was verified. There was no evidence of an in-flt structural or power failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9548S
- Reported as
- Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 359
- Airframe hours
- 4,270
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C1, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Werback, Peter H.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 28, 1982 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- Q59 · Fremont, CA
- Destination
- AUN · Auburn, CA
- Airport
- 06
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 398 total · 201 in this make and model · 334 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N9548S · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.