Aero Vodochody L39 N39DF

Summary

On 26 February 2006 at about 16:28 local time, a Aero Vodochody L39 registered N39DF was involved in an accident near California 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

26 February 2006 at 16:28

Classification

Accident

Location

California City, California, United States

Coordinates

35.2264, -118.1006

Aircraft

Aero Vodochody L39

Registration

N39DF

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Van Nuys → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06FA124

2 people died.

The flight crew's failure to maintain terrain clearance during an intentionally performed course reversal turn at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight crew in the accident airplane and the producer-director in a second camera ship departed for a planned aerial photography flight. During the filming operation, the director issued a series of instructions to the accident flight crew, and the flight crew maneuvered their airplane pursuant to the instructions. After filming for about 1 hour, the producer, who was in the camera ship at 5,500 feet mean sea level (msl), directed that the accident airplane's crew to perform a "sharp snap roll to the right and pull down out of frame." The crew responded by rolling into a right 135-degree bank and descending. During the attempted recovery from the near split "S" course reversal turn, the airplane impacted the underlying 3,100-foot elevation hillside. Cameras in the accident airplane and the camera ship recorded video and audio during the accident flight that was reviewed during the investigation. No abnormalities in the accident aircraft were observed. The severity of the impact and fire damage to flight controls and associated system components precluded confirmation of their preimpact integrity. Examination of available airframe and engine components revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.