Bede Aircraft BD-5 accident near Chula Vista, California, December 24, 1987
On December 24, 1987 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Bede Aircraft BD-5, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N29DT, was destroyed in an accident near Chula Vista, 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 24, 1987 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Chula Vista, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bede Aircraft BD-5, amateur-built
- Registration
- N29DT · no longer on the register · serial 3829
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
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: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,824 hours in all; 40 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 2,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, December 21, 1987; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 890 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Honda EB2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDM San Diego CA at 8:02 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:35 pm from SDM, 4 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 N29DT 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.