- Date
- February 26, 1990, 11:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Monica, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N100PYReid Long EZ
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900226002869A
- Case key
- 26528
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's inflight loss of control due to spatial disorientation.
Analysis
At the conclusion of a local flight, the pilot entered downwind for landing. The tower cleared the aircraft for landing and the pilot stated he would be making a 'long downwind.' Two minutes later, the pilot told the tower that he had lost visual contact with the runway and would be making a go-around. Three minutes later, the tower controller queried the flight about its postion and the pilot responded that 'actually I can't tell.' That was the last communication with the flight. The wreckage was found floating about 4 miles off shore. A helicopter pilot flying in the vicinity reported that a dense fog bank was moving on shore at the time with tops at about 900 feet and bases at about 400 feet. The witness said the inflight visibility was one half to three quarters of a mile beneath the fog bank.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N100PY
- Reported as
- Reid Long EZ
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 344
- Airframe hours
- 390
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Reid, William W.
- Registered owner
- Reid, William Wallace
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- SMO · Santa Monica, CA
- Destination
- SMO
- Airport
- SMO · Santa Monica, runway 21, 4,987 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 72
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,998 total · 300 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SMO, 4 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.