- Date
- June 29, 1990, 12:33 local (19:33 UTC)
- Place
- Sonoma, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N7966de Havilland DH-82A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900629031669A
- Case key
- 26839
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 pilot failed to maintain airspeed causing the airplane to inadvertently enter into a stall/mush condition.
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
Shortly after departing runway 08, the pilot failed to maintain adequate flying speed and entered into a stall/mush condition. The pilot reported that during the descent, the elevator became unresponsive. Both occupants exited the airplane before it was consumed by the ensuing post-impact fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7966
- Reported as
- de Havilland DH-82A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 83462
- Engine
- de Havilland GYPSY MAJOR, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Thomason, John W.
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total · 1 in this make and model · 1,400 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 85° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °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.