Luscombe 8A N37081

Summary

On 12 June 2024 at about 22:25 local time, a Luscombe 8A registered N37081 was involved in an accident near South Lake Tahoe, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 June 2024 at 22:25

Classification

Accident

Location

South Lake Tahoe, California, United States

Coordinates

38.8911, -119.9667

Aircraft

Luscombe 8A

Registration

N37081

Category

Airplane

Year built

1941

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lodi → South Lake Tahoe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24FA195

2 people died.

The pilot’s decision to continue low-altitude flight toward rising mountainous terrain in high density altitude conditions, which resulted in collision with trees and terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger were conducting a cross-country flight in the 65-horsepower, tailwheel equipped airplane to an airport located in mountainous terrain. In-flight photos taken by the passenger showed the airplane at low altitude over the mountains, heading toward higher terrain, about 1/2 mile from the accident site. Accident site signatures were consistent with a collision with trees and subsequent impact with terrain. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The calculated density altitude at the accident site was about 11,329 ft. Review of the Koch chart using the estimated conditions present at the accident site showed about an 80% decrease in the airplane’s published climb performance under these conditions, which would have resulted in a rate of climb of about 150 ft per minute. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s decision to conduct low-altitude flight into mountainous terrain under density altitude conditions that significantly degraded the airplane’s performance, which resulted in impact with trees and terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.