Amateur-built LANCAIR 235 accident near Llano, California, September 4, 1998
On September 4, 1998 at about 2:58 pm local time, a amateur-built LANCAIR 235, registered N1142W, was destroyed in an accident near Llano, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions , which resulted in spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of aircraft control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 1998 · about 2:58 pm local time
- Place
- Llano, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built LANCAIR 235 LANCAIR 23
- Registration
- N1142W · no longer on the register · serial 235-114
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The non-instrument rated pilot received a weather briefing for his original route of flight the morning of the accident and was advised that IFR conditions existed along that route but that VFR conditions existed through the desert areas. The briefer told the pilot that mid level broken to scattered cloud layers were forecasted and that no thunderstorm activity was expected until after 1100. About 40 minutes into his flight, a pilot friend in a second airplane that was traveling to the same destination caught up with the pilot and they conversed via radio. The second pilot indicated that he filed an IFR flight plan due to the uncertain nature of the weather forecasts. The second pilot stated that the weather started to turn bad, and the accident pilot told him that he was going to turn back. The second pilot saw him make a 180-degree turn and descend into clouds; he did not receive any further communication from the accident pilot. Witnesses at the accident site stated that it had been raining and the clouds were all the way down to the ground, with one witness saying she could not see the neighbor's house 1/4-mile away. One witness stated that the airplane flew directly over her house no higher than 75 feet, made a tight right turn, and then crashed to the ground with a loud bang. The extensively fragmented wreckage was distributed over a distance of 718 feet. Examination of the airframe, engine, propeller, and avionics revealed no discrepancies. Review of the pilot's logbook revealed no evidence of instrument flight experience since 1958.
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: 234 hours in all; 57 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 61 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 19, 1998; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CNO Chino CA at 2:07 pm
- Destination: RDM Redmond OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1.2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,600 ft; scat at 700 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:09 pm from PMD, 35 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.