- Date
- June 28, 1988, 18:10 local (Jun 29, 1988, 01:10 UTC)
- Place
- Truckee, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8534ABaron Minicoupe
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 4, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880628023879A
- Case key
- 25778
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
It was reported that the purpose of the flight was to buzz friends of the pilot who were windsurfing on sailboards. The airplane was seen maneuvering erratically at a very low altitude over the boca reservoir. Witnesses said the airplane did several steep turns and appeared to stall. The airplane collided with the terrain in a nose low, left wing low attitude. Witnesses indicated the winds were gusting to 30 mph at the time of the accident. Tox tests revealed 110-124 ng/ml marijuana metabolites in the urine of the pilot. Tox testing of blood was negative for marijuana metabolites. The airplane was certified in the experimental category. Acrobatics/abrupt maneuvers were prohibited.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8534A
- Reported as
- Baron Minicoupe
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- HB1
- Airframe hours
- 200
- Engine
- Volkswagen RVMSTR-2100-S, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Thys, Edward B.
- Registered owner
- Hall, Lawrence D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 17, 1983
- Departed
- 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
- 34
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,542 total · 31 in this make and model · 2,392 as pilot in command · 281 in the last 90 days · 106 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 14 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRK, 5 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.