Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Pedro, California 90731
Saturday, November 25, 2006 13:18 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was flying an experimental aerobatic airplane on a local aerobatic flight. Following an aerobatic sequence, the airplane pitched down abruptly and entered a 70-degree nose down attitude until impact with the ocean. A witness flying in the area heard the pilot declare a "mayday" but the pilot did not indicate the nature of the emergency. An additional witness saw something depart the airplane when it was approximately 500 feet above the water during the descent. The pilot's restraint system was found unlatched, and the pilot was found outside of the airplane with his parachute deployed. The canopy was not recovered. The pilot had apparently initiated an emergency egress from the aircraft, suggesting that he was not incapacitated at the time of the accident. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies was discovered during a thorough examination of the recovered wreckage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Loss of control for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/25/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1318
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City San Pedro
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90731
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334200N
Event Location Longitude 1181900W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID LGB
Elevation of weather observation facility 60
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23228
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 25 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Long Beach, California

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4426X
NTSB Number LAX07LA047
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Interavia
Aircraft Model E-3
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 02-06
Certified Max Gross Weight 2335
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17
Airframe Hours 128.7
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Yakety Yak Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Road; Suite 105
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name David Hermance
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Huntington Beach
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92648
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LGB
Departure City Long Beach
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone PST
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 5 2008 3:16PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --