Twibell TANGENT 65 N4309M

Summary

On 6 April 1996 at about 16:14 local time, a Twibell TANGENT 65 registered N4309M was involved in an accident near Lucerne Valley, 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

6 April 1996 at 16:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Lucerne Valley, California, United States

Coordinates

34.5196, -116.8793

Aircraft

Twibell TANGENT 65

Registration

N4309M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Apple Valley → Yucca Valley

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX96LA156

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain altitude. Factors in the accident were: the pilot's decision to buzz the area and his ostentatious display.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The two airplanes had executed a touch-and-go on a dry lake. The first airplane reentered the upwind leg, and the accident airplane executed a low level left steep turn around the windsock. Ground witnesses observed the accident airplane's altitude decrease as its bank angle steepened. The airplane's left wing struck the ground and the airplane cartwheeled, coming to rest inverted about 30 feet from the initial impact point.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.