- Date
- November 21, 1992, 14:10 local (22:10 UTC)
- Place
- San Jose, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N821DRRans S-10 Sakota
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921121047499A
- Case key
- 27870
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
1) The loss of engine power due to undetermined reason(s), and, 2) the pilot not maintaining airspeed above the power off stall speed while maneuvering to the runway resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor in this accident was the pilot not having sufficient altitude to recover from the stall/spin.
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
About one minute after takeoff, at an altitude of about 150 to 200 feet, the pilot contacted the control tower local controller to report he was having engine problems and was returning to land. The local controller cleared the pilot to land on any runway. Witnesses reported the pilot entered a 'tight' right turn and then entered a stall/spin. The airplane impacted the ground and exploded. An FAA airworthiness inspector, who examined the airplane after the accident, determined all flight controls were intact, operable, and working correctly. Due to the damage to the engine, the cause of the loss of power could not be determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N821DR
- Reported as
- Rans S-10 Sakota (S-10 SAKOT)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0990115
- Engine
- Rotax 582, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Charles R. Goetowski
- Registered owner
- Charles R. Goetowski
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- RHV
- Destination
- 3O7 · Hollister, CA
- Airport
- RHV · Reid-Hillview, runway 31, 3,101 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 150 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RHV, 1 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.