- Date
- March 8, 1989, 15:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Leggett, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N277MBStearns BD-4
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890308004599A
- Case key
- 26161
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
The pilot's continuation of VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure maintain proper altitude. Factors related to the accident were the adverse weather conditions, high terrain, and trees.
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 a x-country flt, the airplane collided with tall trees at the top of a cliff, next to the pacific shoreline. The crash site was located about 1000 ft above the shore. After impacting the trees, wreckage was strewn over about a 3000 yard area of relatively level terrain. There was evidence the acft was flying over water & angling toward the shoreline, just prior to initial impact. Aprx 50 to 60 mi north at ukiah, there was a reported ceiling at 2000 ft with light drizzle & fog. Wx at the acdnt site was not verified. No evidence of a preimpact mechanical problem was found during the investigation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N277MB
- Reported as
- Stearns BD-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 4-469
- Airframe hours
- 106
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Stearns, Eugene R.
- Registered owner
- Stearns, Eugene R
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 9, 1988 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- SMX · Santa Maria, CA
- Destination
- CVO · Corvallis, OR
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 59
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 596 total · 106 in this make and model · 396 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- UKI, 52 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.