- Date
- August 6, 1987, 14:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Butte City, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8335HNorth American T-6G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870806045359A
- Case key
- 25660
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 flight, a witness observed the acft making shallow right turns at aprx 100 ft AGL. The acft suddenly nosed down and collided with the terrain. Neither the plt nor the passenger remember what happened. Inspection of the engine revealed considerable impact damage, however the components that were not damaged were inspected and tested with no mechanical failures or malfunctions noted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8335H
- Reported as
- North American T-6G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 49-3210-A
- Airframe hours
- 4,777
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Donald E. Murphy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 13, 1987 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- 097 · Richvale, 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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 10,250 total · 65 in this make and model · 10,000 as pilot in command · 288 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CIC, 18 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.