- Date
- March 25, 1990, 13:15 local (21:15 UTC)
- Place
- Halfmoon Bay, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N287PHKolb Twinstar
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900325015829A
- Case key
- 26549
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed and altitude.
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 stated he was descending in a 270 degree right turn to land on top of a hill when he let his airspeed drop too much. The aircraft collided with the hill on the upslope side. The aircraft had no registration or airworthiness certificate. There was fuel on board at the time and evidence indicated the engine was operating before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N287PH
- Reported as
- Kolb Twinstar
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0019
- Airframe hours
- 54
- Engine
- Rotax 503, 50 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Phillip M. Huether
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 234 total · 54 in this make and model · 203 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 9 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,200 ft broken
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.