Opperman LANCAIR IV-P N444LP

Summary

On 5 December 1996 at about 23:12 local time, a Opperman LANCAIR IV-P registered N444LP was involved in an accident near Suisun City, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 December 1996 at 23:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Suisun City, California, United States

Coordinates

38.1904, -121.9293

Aircraft

Opperman LANCAIR IV-P

Registration

N444LP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Concord → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97FA065

2 people died.

In-flight loss of control for an undetermined reason.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

At the time of the accident the aircraft had accumulated about 32 total hours. The delivery pilot and the owner pilot departed for a local familiarization flight. The aircraft failed to return and the wreckage was located the next day about 12 miles northeast of the departure airport. The aircraft collided with rolling farmland in a wings level attitude with the gear and flaps retracted. There was adequate fuel onboard for the local flight. There was engine power being generated at the time of the ground collision. Disassembly of the engine and a functional testing of system components found no failures or discrepancies. The featherable propeller was in the normal governing pitch range under engine power at the time of ground collision.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.