- Date
- November 29, 1987, 18:43 local (Nov 30, 1987, 02:43 UTC)
- Place
- Long Beach, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4369VPiper PA-46
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 2, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871129068489A
- Case key
- 25795
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Pilot's failure to land the aircraft after experiencing the pilot's faulty decision was his previous experience with a gear up landing a couple of years before.
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 the return flight to san jose and subsequent descent and approach to the Long Beach airport, the two pilots experienced, in succession, a failure of the turbocharger system, loss of an alternator, loss of engine oil pressure, an unsafe landing gear indication, and an in-flight fire followed by the loss of engine power during a night time circling approach to an unfamiliar airport in visual meteorological conditions. The aircraft crashed onto the southbound lanes of the san diego freeway at Long Beach after making a flyby of the tower to confirm the landing gear position. The investigation revealed an improperly installed turbocharger, a cracked manifold exhaust, a burned main power lead, a separated cylinder, and a low fluid level in the hydraulic reservoir. Two years prior to this accident, the instructor pilot made an unintentional gear up landing in another acft. One year prior to this accident the FAA revoked the mechanic's inspection authorization.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4369V
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46-8408076
- Engine
- Continental TSI0-520-BE1, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Million Air
- Registered owner
- Lawrence J & Sandra M Hoffart
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 22, 1987
- Departed
- CRQ · Carlsbad, CA
- Destination
- SJC · San Jose, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LGB · Long Beach, runway 30, 10,000 × 200 ft, asphalt
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
- 62
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,782 total · 237 in this make and model · 4,656 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LGB, 1 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.