Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sacramento, California 95822
Thursday, December 14, 2000 17:20 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A passenger aboard an airplane sustained fatal injuries when she exited the airplane through an emergency exit during flight. The emergency exit door, hinged along the edge toward the nose of the airplane, was on the right side of the cabin between the right rear single seat and the rear pair of seats. Opening the door in flight would require significant force to overcome the wind pressure. The deceased passenger sat by herself next the emergency exit. The passengers in the seats immediately ahead of the emergency exit said they heard a loud sound, like rushing air, behind them and knew this wasn't normal. They thought they felt the wind, and one passenger turned to look over his right shoulder. He saw the deceased passenger with her shoulders out of the door. Her left arm was passing over his head, so he grabbed her coat at her left wrist. He tried to reach further right for a better hold, but now could only see the dark coat and her arm. He felt a tug; the female slipped from his grasp and fell clear of the airplane. Officers from the San Jose Police Department, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the investigator-in-charge (IIC) from the Safety Board examined the airplane after FBI personnel completed a forensic analysis of the cabin. A red cover, inscribed with the word "LIFT" in white letters, lay over the emergency exit door's operating handle. With this cover lifted up, the handle required a noticeable force to rotate it about 45 degrees in a clockwise direction. Rotation of the handle moved a 1/2-inch diameter metal rod approximately 1-inch from the latched to the unlatched position. The latch receptacle in the airframe did not exhibit any deformities. The IIC locked and unlocked the door several times and detected no malfunctions. The victim's husband informed the FBI that, the day before the incident, his wife scheduled an appointment for counseling later that week. Toxicological tests on the deceased passenger found no ethanol or other drug substances. The coroner's office classified the death as a suicide.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The passenger committed suicide.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/14/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1720 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | SACRAMENTO |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95822 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 384144N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1213527W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SAC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 24 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2100 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 3 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 6 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14299 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 14 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1907 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2003 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N252SA |
| NTSB Number | LAX01FA059 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Dehavilland |
| Aircraft Model | DHC-6 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | DHC 6 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 614 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 12500 |
| 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 | 17 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 28 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 72 |
| Airframe Hours | 30743 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3000 HANOVER ST |
| Aircraft Owner City | PALO ALTO |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 94304 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Executive/Corporate |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SAC |
| Departure City | Sacramento |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1715 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SJC |
| Destination City | SAN JOSE |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 15 2003 1:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |