Bombardier T33 N99192

Summary

On 2 November 2003 at about 23:55 local time, a Bombardier T33 registered N99192 was involved in an accident near Santa Clarita, 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

2 November 2003 at 23:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Clarita, California, United States

Coordinates

34.3667, -118.5000

Aircraft

Bombardier T33

Registration

N99192

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Van Nuys → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA034

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain during low altitude maneuvers.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with terrain during low altitude maneuvers. Witnesses heard the loud engine noise, which got their attention. The airplane was very low, just several hundred feet above the ground. The airplane turned and the left wing went straight up and down, and then the airplane turned upright. It went into a second left turn, but this time it went straight down. It seemed to spin, and the engine was loud the whole time. Witnesses said that the airplane looked symmetrical; they could see both wings and tip tanks. Some witnesses thought that the engine sounded erratic for a short while, but then noted that it was loud until impact. An experienced pilot in the T33 trained the accident pilot, and said that the pilot was very conscientious. The pilot would not always wear his G-suit, when they routinely practiced aerobatics. They would land at a nearby airport, refuel, and then return to Van Nuys. Another pilot reported that the pilot did not unpin all six ejection pins. He would pull the canopy pins, but not the seat pins. There was a pin on the floor on each side of the seat, and he normally left both seat pins in. The pilot had called his wife to tell her that he was going flying near the high desert practice area. He was going to do aerobatics, fly around, and come back. The airplane was highly fragmented, and investigators could not establish control continuity. The engine sustained mechanical damage, and displayed evidence of rotation under power at impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.