Wittman Tailwind W-8 N333HL accident, Watsonville, CA, Aug 7, 1988 · NTSB LAX88DVM03

Date: August 7, 1988, 13:45 local (20:45 UTC)
Place: Watsonville, CA
Injuries: 2 uninjured
Damage: Substantial damage
Phase of flight: Enroute
Aircraft: N333HLWittman Tailwind W-8
Weather: Visual (VMC) · Day
Status: Completed · report January 8, 1990
Report: Approved by Office Director
FAA report: 19880807030709A
Case key: 25775

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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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.

Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malfClimb - to cruise

Engine assembly,connecting rod bolt - failure,totalCause

Forced landingDescent - emergency

Nose overLanding - roll

Terrain condition - softFactor

Aircraft

Registration: N333HL
Reported as: Wittman Tailwind W-8 (TAILWIND W)
Category: Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number: 286
Airframe hours: 555
Engine: Continental C-85-12F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage: Substantial damage
Flight: Personal · Part 91
Registered owner: Ms. Roruko Demand
Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection: 100 hour · July 5, 1988 · 104 hours before
Departed: 307 · Hollister, CA
Destination: HAF · Half Moon Bay, CA

N333HLRegistered now · Lafleur Hal A WITTMAN TAILWIND W-8S/N 286 · Built 1982 Airframe modelLafleur Hal A WITTMAN TAILWIND W-8 Engine modelContinental C85 seriesReciprocating

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: 61
Certificate: Private
Airplane ratings: Single-engine land
Medical: Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat: Left
Flight hours: 2,380 total · 380 in this make and model · 50 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions: Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind: 290° at 14 knots
Visibility: 35 statute miles
Lowest ceiling: None
Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 54 °F
Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Observed at: OAK

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 19880807030709AAmtrwt TAILWINDW8 · Watsonville, CAEngine quit on climb to cruise. Nosed over landing. Connecting rods broken. Bolts for one connecting rod missing.Aug 7, 1988 · N333HL · Substantial damage