Amateur-built LONG-EZE accident near Geyserville, California, June 25, 1983
On June 25, 1983 at about 3:50 pm local time, a amateur-built LONG-EZE, registered N81KP, was destroyed in an accident near Geyserville, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 1983 · about 3:50 pm local time
- Place
- Geyserville, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built LONG-EZE
- Registration
- N81KP · registry record · serial 292
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS FIRST OBSERVED ROUNDING THE BEND IN THE RUSSIAN RIVER ABOUT 1 MI WEST OF THE BRIDGE FLYING IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION, APPARENTLY FOLLOWING THE RIVER BED. THE ACFT'S ALTITUDE WAS DESCRIBED FROM 'JUST OVER THE WATER' TO 'TREE-TOPLEVEL.' AS THE ACFT APPROACHED THE BRIDGE IT CLIMBED TO AN ALTITUDE 'JUST ABOVE THE BRIDGE.' THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES WHICH WERE STRUNG OVER THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO POLES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT WHILE LOOKING IN THE ACFT'S DIRECTION OF TRAVEL, 'THE SUN WAS LOW ON THE HORIZON DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE PLANE AND VERY BRIGHT.'
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,575 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 2,478 as pilot in command; 1,267 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 125 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 7, 1983; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,325 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O60 Cloverdale CA at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 pm from STS, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N81KP the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.