Amateur-built LANCAIR IV-P accident near Suisun City, California, December 5, 1996
On December 5, 1996 at about 11:12 pm local time, a amateur-built LANCAIR IV-P, registered N444LP, was destroyed in an accident near Suisun City, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
In-flight loss of control for an undetermined reason.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 5, 1996 · about 11:12 pm local time
- Place
- Suisun City, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built LANCAIR IV-P LANCAIR IV
- Registration
- N444LP · registry record · serial 199
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the time of the accident the aircraft had accumulated about 32 total hours. The delivery pilot and the owner pilot departed for a local familiarization flight. The aircraft failed to return and the wreckage was located the next day about 12 miles northeast of the departure airport. The aircraft collided with rolling farmland in a wings level attitude with the gear and flaps retracted. There was adequate fuel onboard for the local flight. There was engine power being generated at the time of the ground collision. Disassembly of the engine and a functional testing of system components found no failures or discrepancies. The featherable propeller was in the normal governing pitch range under engine power at the time of ground collision.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 32 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 12, 1996; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-550-B1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CCR Concord CA at 11:04 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:45 pm from CCR, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.