- Date
- April 12, 1987, 14:03 local (22:03 UTC)
- Place
- Ventura, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N32BBGrumman G-44A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870412009069A
- Case key
- 25562
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
During a local pleasure flight, the pilot had reduced power and descended to a lower altitude to take pictures of a sailboat race. At approximately 200 feet the pilot made a descending right turn, then leveled off. The aircraft stalled and the pilot lowered the nose and abruptly added power. The engines did not respond in time to regain altitude and airspeed. The aircraft then impacted the water left wing first. On impact a fire started. The aircraft eventually sank and was not recovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32BB
- Reported as
- Grumman G-44A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1475
- Airframe hours
- 5,500
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-480-B1, 270 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Schwamm, John A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SBA · Santa Barbara, 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,100 total · 450 in this make and model · 2,045 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OXR, 14 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.