- Date
- February 9, 1985, 15:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Corona, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8898Piper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850209002909A
- Case key
- 24470
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 refueling, the acft took off & lost pwr at 150 ft to 200 ft AGL. The acft struck trees while in a steepening left bank & crashed in an open field adjacent to the arpt. No contaminants or water were found either in the acft's fuel system or in the fuel source. Continuity was ascertained for flight controls, the engine, the electrical systems and the fuel system. The carburetor was fractured. The fuel selector was found on the right tank but an imprint of the pointer was found in the 'off' position. The plt had no memory beyond refueling. Tests conducted in a similar acft with the fuel selector in the 'off' position were inconclusive.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8898
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3171
- Airframe hours
- 1,612
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A4C5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Alan & Joan Strickfaden
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 10, 1984 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- L66 · Corona, CA
- Destination
- TOA · Torrance, CA
- Airport
- Corona Muni, runway 25, 3,200 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,602 total · 150 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CNO, 5 nm away
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 N8898 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.