- Date
- July 17, 1987, 19:30 local (Jul 18, 1987, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Crystal Bay, NV
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1870SBeech B200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870717035199A
- Case key
- 40526
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Analysis
While on an instrument flight plan in IMC, the flight was cleared for an instrument approach to the south lake tahoe airport, the intended destination. The aircraft departed the initial approach fix on the published transition to the final approach course. Radar contact was lost at 11,400 feet. Afterward, the acft was observed descending out of clouds and manuevering erratically in VMC until it impacted terrain with no apparent attempt to recover. Medical recordsrevealed pilot had a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and recent loss of 41 pounds on a rigid weight loss program. The autopsy revealed severe arteriosclorosis. Medical records indicated the pilot had been taking diazide intermittently for several years. Post-accident tox results were negative. The circumstances of the accident, in combination with the pilot's severe diet, medical history, and postmortem examination results support the conclusion that the pilot became incapacitated in flight.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1870S
- Reported as
- Beech B200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- BB1106
- Airframe hours
- 478
- Engine
- P&W PT6A-42, 850 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard P. Lieberman
- Registered owner
- Skywater Lodge
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 14, 1987 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- HWD · Hayward, CA
- Destination
- 3SW · S. Lake Tahoe, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- TVL · South Lake Tahoe, runway 18, 8,544 × 150 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
- 54
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,995 total · 381 in this make and model · 3,995 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,200 ft broken
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- 3SW, 20 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.