Thunder And Colt GA42 accident near Hayward, CA
On February 26, 1995, a Thunder And Colt GA42 was involved in an accident near Hayward, CA. 1 person died.
- Date
- February 26, 1995
- Place
- Hayward, CA
- Aircraft
- Thunder And Colt GA42 · BLIM
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- —
- Position
- 37.671°N, 122.079°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001207X03003
NTSB summary
On February 26, 1995, at 1522 Pacific standard time, the pilot of a Thunder & Colt GA42 blimp, N28SQ, fell from the aircraft during an attempted landing at the Hayward, California, airport. The airship was owned and operated by Sky Quest, Inc., of San Jose, California, and was conducting local traffic pattern operations at the airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and included calm wind conditions. The airship was not damaged in the accident sequence; however, the certificated commercial pilot incurred fatal injuries. The flight originated at the Hayward airport on the day of the accident at 1514 hours. Information provided by the blimp's ground crew revealed that the pilot was giving familiarization rides to ground crew members during the flight sequence. According to statements from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) personnel on duty in the tower cab, the airship was performing closed traffic pattern stop-and-go operations in an area adjacent to runway 28L. The accident occurred during the third stop-and-go landing of the flight. While on downwind, the blimp was cleared for a stop-and-go option by the local controller. The passenger onboard the airship was interviewed by FAA inspectors. According to his written and oral statements, the pilot had given a paying passenger a sightseeing ride earlier in the day and the second individual scheduled for the day did not show up. The pilot then decided to give his ground crew familiarization rides. A circuit of the pattern was flown with another ground crew member.
Probable cause
the pilot's decision to operate the blimp with a known and unresolved deficiency in the electrical system, which led to a loss of the flight controls and the pilot's improper remedial actions after the blimp came to rest on the ground.
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Browse: California
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
