- Date
- December 20, 1988, 18:00 local (Dec 21, 1988, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Oakland, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1072SBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 9, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881220065189A
- Case key
- 26316
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
Pilots intentional flight into known adverse weather condititions from which he inadvertently descended into the water at a high rate of speed. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing; lack of recent instrument flying experience; overconfident in his own ability to conduct a safe flight in adverse weather conditions.
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
The pilot descended into the san francisco bay area while on a night visual flight from Oakland to san francisco. The weather was instrument meteorological conditions with visibility between one to four miles with moderate rain showers and fog. Prior to the accident the pilot attempted to radio san francisco tower but was advised he was still broadcasting on the Oakland tower frequency. The pilot acknowledged the advice and was not heard from again. The aircraft was recovered from the bay after exposure to salt water. Examination of the aircraft wreckage revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction prior to the accident. The plt was not found. The investigation revealed that the pilot had little recent instrument experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1072S
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45326
- Airframe hours
- 3,244
- Engine
- Allison C28B, 500 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Helicopters Unlimited
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- OAK
- Destination
- Hunter'S Point, CA
- 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,370 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 220° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 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.