Amateur-built UNKNOWN accident near Hemet, California, March 8, 1987
On March 8, 1987 at about 9:13 pm local time, a amateur-built UNKNOWN (glider), registered N9726Z, was destroyed in an accident near Hemet, 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
- March 8, 1987 · about 9:13 pm local time
- Place
- Hemet, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built UNKNOWN
- Registration
- N9726Z · no longer on the register · serial 1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A LOCAL SOARING FLIGHT, THE ACFT WAS SEEN BY A WITNESS TO BE IN A VERTICAL DIVE AND APPEARED TO BE INTACT WHEN IT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN. INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED NO CONTROL SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS. THE PLTS FLT TIME WAS 38 HRS AS OF 2/5/85 THE DATE OF HIS LAST MEDICAL EXAM. NO FURTHER RECORD.
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: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 38 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 31, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 850 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: None NONE (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Operator: Academic Soaring Club, INC.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 5 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from RIV, 15 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.