Amateur-built 601 accident near Penn Valley, California, March 23, 1997
On March 23, 1997 at about 4:49 pm local time, a amateur-built 601, registered N4073T, was destroyed in an accident near Penn Valley, 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
Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Factors in the accident were the pilot's lack of recent experience, lack of experience in the type aircraft, and physical impairment due to drugs.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 1997 · about 4:49 pm local time
- Place
- Penn Valley, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built 601
- Registration
- N4073T · no longer on the register · serial 1414
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
No witnesses observed the aircraft when it impacted terrain in a pasture. A witness who lives about 1 mile from the accident site reported that the aircraft's engine was cutting out as it flew over his location. Another witness, inside his home near the accident site, did not hear the engine at all; he reported hearing only a whoosh and a thump. The pilot purchased the aircraft 7 months prior and this was his first flight in the aircraft. He had not had any checkout, and according to his logbook, had not piloted an aircraft in the previous 4 months. The last maintenance entry in the aircraft logbook was an annual inspection performed 18 months prior. A toxicology analysis performed by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute detected impairing amounts of the drug Diphenhydramine in the pilot's blood and urine.
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: 248 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 173 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 55 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 7, 1997
- Maximum gross weight: 1,050 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O17 Grass Valley CA at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from BAB, 13 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.