Amateur-built FLIGHTSTAR accident near Lowerlake, California, September 8, 1984
On September 8, 1984 at about 2:45 am local time, a amateur-built FLIGHTSTAR (ultralight), registered UNREG, was involved in an accident near Lowerlake, California. It was a personal flight under ultralight rules (Part 103). 1 person was 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
- September 8, 1984 · about 2:45 am local time
- Place
- Lowerlake, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built FLIGHTSTAR
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Personal flight · ultralight rules (Part 103)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKEOFF THE ULTRALIGHT FLEW AT ABOUT 50 FT AGL TOWARD A ROW OF OAK TREES BORDERING A PASTURE. IT THEN STRUCK A 60 FT TREE & CRASHED. TWO WITNESSES WHO KNEW THE PLT WELL STATED HE HAD 'BEEN DRINKING QUITE A BIT' ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. THEY ALSO STATED THE PLT '...LIKED TO TRIM THE TOPS OF THE TREES' & HAD A REPUTATION AS 'A HOT DOG.' THE PLT'STHREE PREVIOUS CERTIFICATES, DATING FROM 1964, HAD EITHER BEEN REVOKED OR RESCINDED FOR VARIOUS FAR VIOLATIONS & MEDICALREASONS. HIS ORIG STUDENT PLT CERTIFICATE WAS REVOKED IN 1964 FOR VARIOUS FAR VIOLATIONS INCLUDING UNWARRANTED LOW FLT NEAR OCCUPIED BOATS AT SEA. LATER APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES WERE DENIED & REVOKED DUE TO 'A CLINICAL HISTORY OF A DISTURBANCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS WITHOUT SATISFACTORY MEDICAL EXPLANATION. THE PLT'S BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT WAS 0.08%.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 250 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 116 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Kawasaki TA440-436CC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Lowerlake CA at 2:40 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 UNREG 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.