- Date
- August 7, 1990, 19:00 local (Aug 8, 1990, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Calif Valley, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2223EIlli Thunder Gull
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900807031509A
- Case key
- 26587
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
Poor judgement of the pilot from use of a drug (cocaine), and the pilot allowing the design stress limits of the aircraft to be exceeded, while maneuvering, which resulted in overload failure of the wing spar & wing separation.
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
A witness reported the aircraft was flying straight and level, then it entered an accelerating, descending, right turn. The witness then saw part of the right wing separate from the aircraft. A post-accident examintation of the wreckage disclosed no construction, material or metallurgical defect. Based on the computed gross weight, center of gravity, and trim postion at the time of the accident, the aircraft designer calculated the trim speed was 10 mph over the maximum designed vne. Tests of the pilot's blood showed a cocaine level of 2.2 mg/l and benzoylecgonine (metabolite of cocaine) at 0.96 mg/l.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2223E
- Reported as
- Illi Thunder Gull (THUNDER GU)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 912-1.5
- Airframe hours
- 52
- Engine
- Rotax 912, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Urs Peter Illi
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- NONE · Santa Margarita, CA
- Destination
- 6L3 · Calif Valley, CA
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 63 total · 46 in this make and model · 48 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.