The plane crash that killed a Taft-area man a year ago was caused by pilot error, the National Transportation Safety Board has ruled.
There was nothing wrong with the plane flown by Christopher Kidd, 45, when the plane crashed Jan. 2, 2008, the NTSB said.
The crash was one in a number of wrecks involving the kit-built Harmon Rocket plane. The series of crashes led to speculation there was a design defect in the plane, but several NTSB rulings have found nothing to support that concern.
Kidd, who lived in Valley Acres, took off from a small strip on his family’s ranch, headed for New Cuyama, relatives said. He left about 9:30 that Saturday morning and when he didn’t return by afternoon, a widespread search was begun.
The wreckage of his plane was found four days later in rolling hills 10 miles north of Maricopa, near the Kern-Santa Barbara County line. The coroner later determined Kidd, who was alone in the plane, had died on impact.
There was 10-mile visibility when Kidd took off from Valley Acres, and equally clear skies in New Cuyama. But, in between, low-hanging clouds were touching the tops of the hills along Highway 33, the NTSB said. Winds were gusting to 10 mph, it said.
‘It is believed that the pilot attempted to follow State Highway 33 through the narrow valley that runs northeast to southwest through the aforementioned hills,’’ the NTSB report said. ‘’While the pilot was maneuvering in that area, the airplane impacted the terrain .. ‘’
‘’The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The pilot’s failure to maintain an adequate terrain clearance altitude while maneuvering in mountainous, hilly terrain. Contributing to the accident were hilly terrain, a low ceiling and gusty winds,’’ the report concludes.
