- Date
- June 18, 1983, 07:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Ducor, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8838VBellanca 17-31A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830618025509A
- Case key
- 23755
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 crashed into the side of a hill at 1900 feet MSL while on a photographic mission. The top of the mountain that was struck is 2412 feet MSL. The pilot was fatally injured in the crash and ground fire following impact. According to his secretary he was on a photographing mission of the bowen ranch and hills on the ranch. The acft collided in a straight ahead left wing down position. The weather was VMC with 50 miles visibility and no wind.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8838V
- Reported as
- Bellanca 17-31A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30371
- Airframe hours
- 1,780
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harry Dean Gilbert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 14, 1983 · 3 hours before
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
- 51
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 8,765 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.