- Date
- October 31, 1989, 06:57 local (16:57 UTC)
- Place
- Kalihi, HI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3731XBeech 77
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891031049059A
- Case key
- 26599
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
VFR flight by the pilot into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain sufficient altitude and clearance from mountainous terrain. The adverse weather and terrain conditions were related factors.
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 was flying a morning traffic watch along a highway in mountainous terrain, just east of honolulu. The mountain tops were obscured by clouds. The next traffic report was due on the other side of a ridge thru which the highway passed via a tunnel. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed about 1/2 mi west of the south entrance of the tunnel. Impact occurred below a ridge at an elevation of about 2000 ft. this was above the lowest elevation of a pass that crossed the ridge near that point. Ground scars at the crash site were indicative of a wings level impact. No preimpact mechanical problem was evident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3731X
- Reported as
- Beech 77
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- WA-145
- Airframe hours
- 4,521
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 118 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Great Bend Air, Inc
- Registered owner
- Hutchinson Auto & Air Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 22, 1989 · 126 hours before
- Departed
- HNL · Honolulu, HI
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
- 39
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 562 total · 150 in this make and model · 394 as pilot in command · 182 in the last 90 days · 101 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 4 knots
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HNL, 8 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.