- Date
- February 23, 1987, 14:42 local (22:42 UTC)
- Place
- Anza, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N59ABBeech F33A
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870223002979A
- Case key
- 25382
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 non-instrument rated plt & 3 pax planned a pleasure flt to mx. The weather was below VFR minimums however the plt elected to attempt the flt. Several minutes after departure the acft was observed to enter an area where it was snowing, the cloud base was estimated at 200 feet AGL, & the visibility varied from 50 ft to 1 mile. A witness observed an acft flying below the clouds in a steep left bank. The acft suddenly rolled right, pitched upwards (abt 30 degrees) and flew into the clouds. Another witness, located in his house abt 150 ft south of the acc site, heard a sound like an acft eng in a power dive. He then heard a loud dull thud and looked outside and saw the acft in his apple orchard. Exam of the acft & eng did not reveal any preimpact failures or malfunctions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59AB
- Reported as
- Beech F33A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CE-923
- Airframe hours
- 606
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-BB, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Holmes W. Roberts
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 12, 1986 · 158 hours before
- Departed
- 4LO · Aguanga, CA
- Destination
- MXL · Mexicali
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 68
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,967 total · 60 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RIV, 45 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.