Wittman TAILWIND W8L accident near San Jose, CA
On October 27, 1993, a Wittman TAILWIND W8L (airplane) was involved in an accident near San Jose, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 27, 1993
- Place
- San Jose, CA
- Aircraft
- Wittman TAILWIND W8L · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.339°N, 121.899°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X13600
NTSB summary
On October 27, 1993, at 1439 Pacific daylight time, an experimental homebuilt Wittman Tailwind W8L airplane, N9052C, collided with trees and a city street while attempting a forced landing in a residential area in San Jose, California. The aircraft was on approach to San Jose International Airport when the local controller in the tower cab heard a garbled transmission from the pilot concerning the engine. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country personal flight. The aircraft was destroyed in the collision sequence and postcrash fire. The certificated airline transport pilot and his one passenger sustained fatal injuries. Three trees, portions of a city street, and a pickup truck were damaged in the accident. The flight originated at Watsonville, California, on the day of the mishap at about 1400 hours as a cross-country flight to San Jose. According to information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) at San Jose, the pilot telephoned the tower to request permission to enter the Class C airspace at the airport without an operable transponder. The pilot explained that he was bringing the aircraft to San Jose to have the transponder repaired. The tower personnel granted permission for the entry and arranged for the pilot to contact the tower over a local area airport for sequencing. According to the tower controllers, the pilot contacted the facility by radio at the agreed upon location and was sequenced for landing. At about 1437 hours, the local controller hea
Probable cause
THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER FOR AN UNDETERMINED REASON(S). A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE UNSUITABLE NATURE OF THE TERRAIN ENCOUNTERED DURING THE FORCED LANDING.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
