Henderson RUTAN LONG EZ N874PM

Summary

On 13 June 1993 at about 20:39 local time, a Henderson RUTAN LONG EZ registered N874PM was involved in an accident near San Pedro Bay, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 June 1993 at 20:39

Classification

Accident

Location

San Pedro Bay, California, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Henderson RUTAN LONG EZ

Registration

N874PM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hawthorne → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX93LA248

1 person died.

the pilots failure to maintain an adequate terrain clearance altitude while maneuvering over the water at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot planned to make a one-half hour long local area flight. After taking off, he proceeded to an area over the ocean where he had previously flown. A friend of the pilot reported that on numerous occasions the pilot had flown his airplane between 200 and 300 feet over the water, and on occasion he had flown as low as 50 feet above the water. A witness to the crash reported observing the airplane flying between 100 and 200 feet above the water. The airplane initiated a steep right bank turn, descended into the water, and cartwheeled. No evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions were found during the wreckage examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.