- Date
- April 23, 1988, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Palos Verdes, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1394AHernandez Thorp T-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 21, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880423010069A
- Case key
- 25713
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 pilot was demonstrating the acft for the passenger for a possible sale. They were part of a flight of two over the pacific ocean. The owner of the aircraft being demonstrated was in the second aircraft. The pilot of the demo acft radioed to the second acft that he was going to let the passenger fly, who was a comm pilot. The acft initially began making tight turns but then turned away from each other. The plt of the second acft did not see the demo acft again. A ground witness reported seeing an acft diving straight towards the water with no rotation. A search by the second acft revealed nothing. Acft debris belonging to the demo acft was later found on the beach and exhibited extreme accordian signatures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1394A
- Reported as
- Hernandez Thorp T-18
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- T-18-143
- Airframe hours
- 214
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hernandez, John M
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 21, 1987 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- CPM · Compton, CA
- Destination
- CPM
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 706 total · 127 in this make and model · 617 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TOA, 13 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.