Amateur-built MINICOUPE accident near Truckee, California, June 29, 1988
On June 29, 1988 at about 1:10 am local time, a amateur-built MINICOUPE, registered N8534A, was destroyed in an accident near Truckee, 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
- June 29, 1988 · about 1:10 am local time
- Place
- Truckee, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built MINICOUPE
- Registration
- N8534A · no longer on the register · serial HB1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO BUZZ FRIENDS OF THE PILOT WHO WERE WINDSURFING ON SAILBOARDS. THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN MANEUVERING ERRATICALLY AT A VERY LOW ALTITUDE OVER THE BOCA RESERVOIR. WITNESSES SAID THE AIRPLANE DID SEVERAL STEEP TURNS AND APPEARED TO STALL. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN IN A NOSE LOW, LEFT WING LOW ATTITUDE. WITNESSES INDICATED THE WINDS WERE GUSTING TO 30 MPH AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. TOX TESTS REVEALED 110-124 NG/ML MARIJUANA METABOLITES IN THE URINE OF THE PILOT. TOX TESTING OF BLOOD WAS NEGATIVE FOR MARIJUANA METABOLITES. THE AIRPLANE WAS CERTIFIED IN THE EXPERIMENTAL CATEGORY. ACROBATICS/ABRUPT MANEUVERS WERE PROHIBITED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,542 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 281 in the last 90 days; 106 in the last 30 days; 2,392 as pilot in command; 124 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 200 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 17, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen RVMSTR-2100-S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TRK Truckee CA at 1:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 14 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.