Grumman American Avn. CORP. AA-5B accident near Santa Ynez, California, October 30, 2025
On October 30, 2025 at about 1:20 am local time, a 1975 Grumman American Avn. CORP. AA-5B, registered N74323, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Santa Ynez, California (Santa Ynez/Kunkle Fld airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 30, 2025 · about 1:20 am local time
- Place
- Santa Ynez, California · Santa Ynez/Kunkle Fld · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman American Avn. CORP. AA-5B, built 1975 · all AA-5Bs on the register
- Registration
- N74323 · registry record · serial AA5B-0201
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 29, 2025, about 1820 Pacific daylight time, a Grumman American AA-5B, N74323, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Ynez, California. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to maneuver the airplane within and above the traffic pattern of the airport. The pilot departed from runway 26 and began following the noise-abatement climb-out procedures. During the initial climb, the engine began to operate abnormally and, after about three seconds, experienced a total loss of power. The pilot further stated that he maneuvered the airplane in a shallow turn back toward the airport. He determined that the airplane would be unable to maintain sufficient altitude to return to the runway and began searching for an area to conduct an off-airport landing. He elected to touch down in a vineyard just outside the airport perimeter and secured the cockpit by retarding the mixture to full OFF. During the accident sequence, the airplane collided with grapevines and fence posts, which resulted in substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who performed an initial examination of the airplane, the fuel tanks were ruptured as a result of the impact. The inspector was able to drain liquid from the inboard fuel tanks, and the recovered sample was clean of debris and similar in odor to fuel. An external examination of the engine revealed no evidence of holes or catastrophic damage. The wreckage was retained for further examination.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during initial climb defining event
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,582.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 15, 2022; 31.2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 6:15 pm from KIZA
Weather report (METAR): METAR KIZA 300115Z AUTO 26006KT 10SM CLR 23/08 A2997 RMK AO2=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR26LA037.