Amateur-built SNS 8 HIPERLT accident near Corona, California, December 11, 1984
On December 11, 1984 at about 9:45 pm local time, a amateur-built SNS 8 HIPERLT, registered N5303U, was destroyed in an accident near Corona, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- December 11, 1984 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Corona, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SNS 8 HIPERLT SNS 8 HIPE
- Registration
- N5303U · no longer on the register · serial 012
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
N5303U, OWNED & OPERATED BY THE AMATEUR ACFT BUILDER SUSTAINED AN INFLT STRUCTUAL FAILURE OF THE LT BOTTOM WING & CRASHED 6 MI EAST OF CORONA, CA. THE ULTRALIGHT TYPE ACFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE PLT FATALLY INJURED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT WING SPAR FAILURE OCCURRED IN NEGATIVE OVERLOAD WHEN DESIGN STRESS LIMITS WERE EXCEEDED. THE PLT DEPLOYED A SAFETY PARACHUTE BUT THE ALUMINUM FITTING ATTACHING THE CHUTE TO THE ACFT FAILED DUE TO OVERLOADS. THE STRENGTH OF THIS FITTING WAS FOUND INADEQUATE FOR THE FORCES EXPECTED.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,573 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 3,373 as pilot in command; 2,456 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, August 10, 1984; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 277 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Lake Elsninore CA at 9:20 pm
- Destination: L66 Corona CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:45 pm from CNO, 12 miles away
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.
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.