- Date
- April 21, 1984, 19:00 local (Apr 22, 1984, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chico, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- UNREGTeratorn Tierra II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 24015
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 ultralight was being test flown after alterations to the acft & its flight control system. The plt put the acft through some maneuvers and during one of them, described by witnesses as a chandelle, the acft nosed down & crashed intothe ground. The acft dove from about 300 ft AGL. Investigation revealed that an elevator control seat horn had failed & separated in flt. Parts of this failed part were not found in the wreckage. This control part had been modified with more spacing washers than required which increased its torsional loading. After this failure, the plt had no control over the acft elevator.
Aircraft
- Registration
- UNREG
- Reported as
- Teratorn Tierra II
- Category
- Ultralight
- Serial number
- 3113HF2T
- Airframe hours
- 56
- Engine
- Rotax 503, 50 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 103
- Registered owner
- Hawker Flying, Inc
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 10, 1984 · 1 hours before
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 187 total · 24 in this make and model · 108 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CIC, 10 nm away