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Atlas / NTSB / LAX78DUQ36

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event LAX78DUQ36

1978-05-29 CHINA LAKE, California, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N8244E

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BEECH D-45

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AB42A0

Registrant of record

SCALA PETER M

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Historical record (pre-1982)

NTSB recorded this accident in the pre-1982 coded-field schema — structured fields rather than free-text narrative. Decoded codes use established NTSB single-letter taxonomies; cause factors remain verbatim pending the Form 6120.4 codebook lookup.

Aircraft

BEECH D45 · N8244E

Damage

Substantial

Craft type

Airplane

Classification

Accident

Light condition

Dusk

Weather

VMC

Phase of flight

EB

Operator type

L

Airport

NAF CHINA LAKE

Kind of flying

B0

Weather at impact

Sky

CLEAR

Wind

200° / 6 kt

Temp

80° F

Aircraft history

Serial number

0000BU140734

Total time

4,200 hrs

Pilot

Certificate

Commercial — instrument

Total hours

382

Age

32

Investigator remarks

HIT LIP ON END OF RUNWAY.

Cause factors

  • 64/C/48 C
    PILOT IN COMMAND MISJUDGED DISTANCE AND ALTITUDE Cause
  • 80/L/BY L
    AIRPORTS/AIRWAYS/FACILITIES OTHER

Decoded against the NTSB Form 6120.4 cause-factor codebook (ct_Pre1982 table). Each row shows the raw triplet, modifier (Cause / Factor / etc.), category, and specific code.

Source: NTSB pre-1982 historical archive. Docket 3 1613. Source file NTSB_1978_3_1613.txt. Modern CAROL record on data.ntsb.gov ↗.