- Date
- March 6, 1987, 15:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Lebec, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8713VBellanca 7KCAB
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870306005269A
- Case key
- 25387
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
Prior to the flt, the plt rcvd 2 wx briefings & was adzd of low ceilings, restricted visibilities & mtn obscurement along the route. Also, he was adzd that VFR flt was not recommended. The surviving pax said that after entering the mtn area, they contd 'in and out of clouds' & that the plt 'had to climb straight up into the clouds . . . Then it (the acft) struck something.' Three highway patrol officers saw the acft flying just beneath clouds which they estd were about 100 ft AGL. The officers rprtd the acft circled twice, then proceeded along the highway & disappeared in a cloud bank. A short time later, the acft crashed on steeply rising, mountainous terrain. Initial impact was with a treetop located in a ravine. Both occupants were wearing heavy ski clothing. After a time, the rear seat occupant regained consciousness & took a blanket from the baggage compartment. After spending the night on the mountain side, she made her way to the highway for help.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8713V
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7KCAB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 51975
- Airframe hours
- 3,402
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-320-E2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Douglass L. Bruce
- Registered owner
- Bruce, Douglass L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 10, 1986 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- CRQ · Carlsbad, CA
- Destination
- TRK · Truckee, CA
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
- 31
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,813 total · 435 in this make and model · 2,228 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.