Amateur-built T-18 TIGER accident near Tulare, California, December 13, 1984
On December 13, 1984, a amateur-built T-18 TIGER, registered N3WB, was destroyed in an accident near Tulare, 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 13, 1984
- Place
- Tulare, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built T-18 TIGER
- Registration
- N3WB · registry record · serial 279
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT DEPARTED ARPT & ABOUT 5 MINS LATER WAS SEEN 'DESCENDING VERTICALLY' OUT OF 'DARK RAIN CLOUD' AT ABOUT 1,000 FT AGL. DURING ATTEMPTED RECOVERY AT ABOUT 300 FT AGL, ACFT BROKE UP & CRASHED IN A FIELD. PLT DID NOT OBTAIN WX BRIEFING PRIOR TO FLT AND DID NOT HOLD AN INSTRUEMENT RATING. WX AT TIME OF DEPARTURE WAS 1,000 FT OVERCAST, VISIBILITY 2 IN FOG AND RAIN, WINDS CALM. WITNESSES REPORTED BASES OF CLOUDS WERE MOVING SE 'RAPIDLY' AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. WINDS ALOFT AT 3,000 FT WERE REPORTED AT 22 KTS. CUMULUS CLOUDS WERE REPORTED IN VICINITY OF ACCIDENT SITE ALONG WITH MODERATE OR GREATER TURBULENCE. EXAMINATION OF ACFT REVEALED NO PRE-EXISTING PROBLEMS.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,263 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 3,215 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,029 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,519 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: TLR Tulare CA at 11:50 pm
- Destination: 085 Redding CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from VIS, 10 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.
Other NTSB records under N3WB 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.