- Date
- April 13, 1985, 14:47 local (22:47 UTC)
- Place
- Lower Lake, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4544LSederberg Bensen B-8M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850413015799A
- Case key
- 24692
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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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
Following a normal takeoff with the fuel tank one-half full, the acft climbed to 1000 ft AGL at which time engine pwr was gradually lost. A grnd witness reported hearing the eng sputter or miss. The plt attempted to return to the arpt but had insufficient altitude and the acft collided with a 50 to 60 ft tall tree. The reason for the loss of eng pwr is unknown. The plt was the builder of the experimental acft & had just reinstalled the eng prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4544L
- Reported as
- Sederberg Bensen B-8M (BENSEN B-8)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 75
- Engine
- McCulloch 100-13, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stanton Sederberg
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 26, 1984 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- 209 · Lower Lake, CA
- Airport
- 209 · Pearce Fld, runway 30, 2,485 × 50 ft, dirt
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 82 total · 82 in this make and model · 70 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.