NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX80DVA01
Registry · N55WD
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BEECH 390
Seats / Engines
8 seats · 2 engines
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6FF0A
Registrant of record
WILLOUGHBY AVIATION LLC
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
PIPER PA-23 · N55WD
Damage
Substantial
Craft type
Airplane
Classification
Accident
Light condition
Dawn
Weather
VMC
Phase of flight
Cruise — descent (EF)
Operator type
D
Airport
FRESNO AIR TERM
Kind of flying
A0
Weather at impact
Sky
CLEAR
Wind
300° / 8 kt
Aircraft history
Serial number
00000027-449
Total time
2,488 hrs
Pilot
Certificate
DA (DA)
Total hours
2,104
Age
26
Probable cause (from PRE1982.MDB)
HYD FLUID.SUBSEQUENTLY,CO2 GEAR EXT CABLE FAILED.
Investigator remarks
FAILURE OF EMERG HAND PUMP O-RING CAUSED LOSS OF
Cause factors
- 75/A/BB A SYSTEMS HYDRAULIC PUMPS Cause — pilot/personnel action
- 88/A/AJ A MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS LEAK/LEAKAGE Cause — pilot/personnel action
- 88/A/38 A MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS HYDRAULIC FAILURE Cause — pilot/personnel action
- 70/A/CC A AIRFRAME EMERGENCY/EXTENSION ASSEMBLY Cause — pilot/personnel action
- 88/A/95 A MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS MATERIAL FAILURE Cause — pilot/personnel action
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 2439.
Source file
NTSB_1979_3_2439.txt.
Modern CAROL record on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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