- Date
- May 2, 1983, 10:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Yreke, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3881DRietman Widget
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830502018699A
- Case key
- 23569
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
After takeoff the acft was observed to climb to about 7,000-8,000 ft MSL & enter a slow flat spin. 8 turns were counted & the acft did not recover. The plt bailed out of the acft at about 500-600 ft but the parachute did not have time to fully deploy. The right horizontal stabilizer & elevator had broken loose & only fabric held it to the empennage. Both the forward & rear spars were broken at a point where the attaching bolts go through the spars. The forward spar was 1/2 inch thick & drilled with a 1/4 inch drill to accommodate the 1/4 inch mounting bolt. The hole was not centered in the spar & the hole had run out the side of the spar. The rear spar was 1 inch thick & the 1/4 inch hole was also drilled off-center.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3881D
- Reported as
- Rietman Widget
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 01
- Airframe hours
- 7
- Engine
- Franklin 2A120B, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard H. Rietman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · April 12, 1983 · 7 hours before
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 685 total · 7 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.