- Date
- December 7, 1990, 19:00 local (Dec 8, 1990, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ola, ID
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Other
- Aircraft
- N3522HErco 415-C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901207065039A
- Case key
- 41374
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient altitude for terrain clearance. Also causal was the pilot's impairment due to alcohol. Contributing factors were the night light condition and the hilly terrain.
Analysis
The airplane was found inverted on the side of a hill approximately 1,290 ft from a large tree with a broken branch. Witnesses believe that they saw the airplane at dusk in the vicinity of Ola. A bottle of vodka, 1/4 to 1/3 full, was found at the wreckage site. The pilot's ethanol level in both vitreous fluids and lung tissue was 0.23%.
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
- N3522H
- Reported as
- Erco 415-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4147
- Engine
- Continental C85-12F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gary L. Young
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- S67 · Nampa, ID
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 219 total · 11 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BOI, 40 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.