- Date
- February 23, 1992, 15:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Point Reyes Stn, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N24CEChristen Industries Eagle II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920223038589A
- Case key
- 27745
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
Improper preflight planning by the pilot in command by exceeding the airplane's maximum acrobatic gross weight and exceeding the aft aerobatic center of gravity limit. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to perform acrobatic maneuvers which resulted in a inadvertent stall from which recovery was not possible.
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 christen eagle ii lost control during acrobatic maneuvers, collided with coastal waters and was never recovered. The airplane was observed in a steep climb, did a wing over, and then entered a spin. After 4 to 5 rotations in the spin the airplane started to pull out. The airplane was then observed rotating as if in a spin and simultaneously flipping nose over until its tail struck the water. The pilot's total documented aeronautical experience in the accident airplane make and model was 14 flight hours. Investigators determined that the airplane's weight exceeded the maximum normal and aerobatic allowable gross weight. The center of gravity (CG) exceeded the aft limit of the airplane's aerobatic allowable CG. The airplane flight manual publishes a warning which states in part; 'pilots must take weight and balance responsibilities seriously. All aircraft must be loaded so that the aircraft CG will remain within safe limits at all times. All spin recovery procedures depend on having the CG remain within design limits.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N24CE
- Reported as
- Christen Industries Eagle II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- WRIGHT-0001
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Raouls, Bernard H.
- Registered owner
- Raouls, Bernard H.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1991
- Departed
- STS · Sonoma, 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
- 39
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 437 total · 14 in this make and model · 275 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- STS, 37 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.