- Date
- August 23, 1984, 10:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Chula Vista, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- UNREGCalypso N/A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 24019
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
Operator/company personnel had been flying the calypo ultralight for about 2 hrs when the marketing director was approached by a plt who wanted to fly the vehicle. They noted that the plt had been teaching students in an eipper ultralight. Company personnel agreed to let him fly the traffic pattern on the condition that he would practice 3 crow hops 1st. The plt started the calypso, but took off without practicing crow hops. He made 2 passes to the rwy. On the 3rd x-wind to downwind turn at about 200 ft AGL, he commenced a 360-degree turn, then went into a spin & crashed. According to a witness, the plt applied full left stick & full right rudder while personnel on the ground were yelling for him to kick in left rudder. The wintess noted that the plt had previously been flying a 2 axis controlled ultralight (eipper), but the calypso was a 3-axis controlled vehicle. He thought the plt got his hand & foot controls mixed up.
Aircraft
- Registration
- UNREG
- Reported as
- Calypso N/A
- Category
- Ultralight
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 60
- Engine
- Cuyuna U1 11-02, 35 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 103
- Registered owner
- Leach Acft
- Airport
- Nickols Field, runway 27, 1,300 × 100 ft, dirt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 35
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 235 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F