Long Beach Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Long Beach, California 90806
Sunday, August 20, 1989 13:26 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT AND PASSENGER BEGAN TAKING OFF FROM RWY 25L WHICH WAS 150 FEET WIDE BY 5420 FEET LONG. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED TO INITIALLY CLIMB OUT WITH A STEEP NOSE HIGH PITCH ATTITUDE AND AT A SLOW AIRSPEED. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT REACHED AN ALTITUDE OF BETWEEN 100 AND 200 FEET AGL, ITS RIGHT WING AND NOSE SUDDENLY LOWERED, AND THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED UNTIL COLLIDING WITH THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT'S RECENT FLIGHT EXPERIENCE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH, THE AIRCRAFT'S MAXIMUM CERTIFICATED GROSS WEIGHT WAS EXCEEDED BY ABOUT 83 POUNDS.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE AIRSPEED DURING TAKEOFF WHICH LED TO AN INADVERTENT STALL. A FACTOR WAS THE EXCESSIVE WEIGHT IN THE AIRCRAFT.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/20/1989
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1326
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LONG BEACH
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90806
Event Date Year 1989
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LONG BEACH
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LGB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 57
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1340 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LGB
Elevation of weather observation facility 57
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2353
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 20 1989 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1415
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 42544
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 12:58PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2344N
NTSB Number LAX89LA283
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-38-112
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-38-112
Aircraft Serial Number 38-79A0796
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 26 1989 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 74
Airframe Hours 2029
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARY LOU & WALDRON GOSS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4310 DONALD DOUGLASD DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City LONG BEACH
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90808
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name AZTEC AIR INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LGB
Departure City LONG BEACH
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1325
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25L
Runway Length 5420
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --