- Date
- July 19, 1988, 21:05 local (Jul 20, 1988, 04:05 UTC)
- Place
- Portola Valley, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2074MBeech 76
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report June 7, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880719029139A
- Case key
- 25850
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
While dining with friends with whom he resided, the pilot told them that he was 'going flying'. At the completion of the flight he would fly over the house before he returned to palo alto airport (pao). The pilot twice circled the residence which is abt 7 miles southwest of pao at a low altitude and then proceeded west. Ground witnesses reported that when the airplane was abt 1/2 mile west of the residence it entered a 70 deg nose high attitude. The maneuver resembled a left hammerhead stall except before it reached the nose down attitude in entered a left spin. One witness close to the accident site rptd that the airplane had stopped its spin rotation and was in abt a 45 deg nose down attitude at impact. The witnesses near the accident site reptd that 1 of the engs sounded irregular. The post crash investigation disclosed no evidence of any airplane or engine preexisting malfunctions or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2074M
- Reported as
- Beech 76
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- ME-88
- Airframe hours
- 3,650
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1G6D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert J. D'Ambrosia, Et Al
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 8, 1988 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- PAO · Palo Alto, CA
- Destination
- PAO
- Airport
- PAO · Palo Alto
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
- 24
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 322 total · 29 in this make and model · 155 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Observed at
- PAO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.