Register N-number previously involved in fatal accident?

Skepilot

Skepilot

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Skepilot
Would you use an N-number on your plane if that N-number was previously involved in fatal accident? I'm not superstitious myself, but wonder if it might affect resale. Hopefully not too many prospective buyers are superstitious, either!
 
Skepilot said:
if that N-number was previously involved in fatal accident?
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FYI: Considering there are a lot of accident reports not easily accessible prior to 1980 or so, the N number you fly now could have easily have been on a previous fatal wreck. On the other side I would be more concerned of using an N number that was involved in more nefarious activities that did not get purged from the various LEO databases in a timely manner. ;)
 
True. This particular fatal accident was only a few months ago. As soon as my wife Googles the N-number I'm going to hear about it! lol
 
The Buddy Holly tail number is active. Dupage Aviation has the JFK Jr tail number reserved. If it was only a few months ago I doubt it can be used. Could be wrong. I know an tail number out of registration is locked for 5 years. Might not be the same case for a total loss.
 
Racerx said:
If it was only a few months ago I doubt it can be used. Could be wrong. I know an tail number out of registration is locked for 5 years. Might not be the same case for a total loss.
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It shows available on the FAA database, that’s the reason I’m considering it. I only found out later about the accident after googling.
 
I could swear this topic was discussed just a few months ago.

I wouldn't hesitate if it were me and I would not be too concerned about its impact on resale. If the N-number is what gives someone hesitation about the purchase, that person was going to find lots of things to be hesitant about during the purchase process. Win/win as far as I'm concerned.
 
Are you able to pick your own N number? A "Vanity" N number? N IMGR8 N STUDMUFFINPILOT ?
 
WDD said:
Are you able to pick your own N number? A "Vanity" N number? N IMGR8 N STUDMUFFINPILOT ?
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Yes and no.
Yes you can pick your own number.
But, No, it can't be whatever you want because then it wouldn't conform to the rules. There have to be rules. The FAA has to be able to control what your N number looks like. That's important. Since we know that the FARs are written in blood we can conclude that at one time people could choose inappropriately formatted registration numbers that resulted in horrible tragedies.

How to Properly Form an N-Number
N-Numbers consist of a series of alphanumeric characters. U.S. registration numbers may not exceed five characters in addition to the standard U.S. registration prefix letter N. These characters may be:

  • One to five numbers (N12345)
  • One to four numbers followed by one letter (N1234Z)
  • One to three numbers followed by two letters (N123AZ)
To avoid confusion with the numbers one and zero, the letters I and O are not to be used.

Other Requirements
  • An N-Number may not begin with zero. You must precede the first zero in an N-Number with any number 1 through 9. For example, N01Z is not valid.
 
A couple of the best N numbers I've seen:

N1KE- Nike's Gulfstream

N10XY- Occidental Petroleum's Boeing 727 (retired long ago)
 
Makes total sense. Would be funny to have planes named with the level of creativity horse owners in the derby’s have

N pharaohs daddy
N Ulysses
N 007Bond
N will it fly


Tower - N putzin around, make way for the Cirrus N Imrich-yournot who is now on a 10 mile straight in final.
 
Looked up one N number and it was involved in several fatals. The first one when the plane was new happened when someone slipped off the wingwalk and cracked his skull :-0
 
Y'all missed out on N106US - even though there weren't any fatalities...
 
I had a plane that had a tail number that had been in a fatal wreck years before. I flew it 12 years without incident and it never came up during resale.
 
WDD said:
Not as bad as N 666
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That wouldn't bother me at all. I've flown ship number 666 (a 757 at my airline) plenty of times. Somebody has scribbled "El Diablo" on the panel by the ship number. :D I once heard a guy ask for a different squawk code when the one he was assigned included 666. I think that's just ridiculous. Are we pilots science-minded or mired in bronze-age superstitions? I've always admired Spartan College of Aeronautics' logo of a black cat with the number 13 on their airplane's tails, along with the slogan of “Knowledge and Skill Overcome Superstition and Luck.”

Anyway, sorry for causing thread creep on my own thread! :)
 
Skepilot said:
As soon as my wife Googles the N-number I'm going to hear about it! lol
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That's the next question, for all you married guys; do I tell my wife about the history of this N-number, or just hope she doesn't find out? (I'm choosing the tail number for us; it includes our birthdays and our initials!)
 
Skepilot said:
That's the next question, for all you married guys; do I tell my wife about the history of this N-number, or just hope she doesn't find out? (I'm choosing the tail number for us; it includes our birthdays and our initials!)
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I seriously doubt my wife would ever think to google a N-number much less the history of it. So I would definitely have to tell her, and I definitely would and she definitely wouldn't care. But that's why I married her. YMMV.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
I seriously doubt my wife would ever think to google a N-number much less the history of it.
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If you type the tail number in Google, the fatal accident is the second hit. She probably won't care, just might be a bit of a shocker! :eek:
 
I’m not superstitious But I understand that for some that would be similar to “Hey - look here - I’m on satan’a team”. Mark of the beast.

People may not want that out of respect for their religion.

me? Nah - wouldn’t want that for that reason. Give me the lucky number 13? Sure - no problem.


We can be as rational as we want. But I doubt someone would want F&666 Just numbers and letters, right ?
 
Skepilot said:
Would you use an N-number on your plane if that N-number was previously involved in fatal accident? I'm not superstitious myself, but wonder if it might affect resale. Hopefully not too many prospective buyers are superstitious, either!
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I owned this one....or at least the tail and data plate
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/7798

It didn’t bother me and helped with the purchase price. When it was time to go Wings of Hope was happy to take it.
 
So. I rented a plane on Saturday. Called to ground “Tiger 156 Romeo”. Ground said “no, you’re not”.

The school I rented from apparently changed all of their planes’ registration numbers. They all start now with “JED”. I was now apparently in JED680, despite what the number on the side of the plane said. After looking, I found a new number placard safely protected from sunlight and view under the panel lip.

No one apparently knows why they did that or what JED stands for - if anything.
 
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It would not bother me.
 
I used to fly a C-120 with N1666V. That N number is now on a C-172.

It was known as "triple six," and I never gave it a thought...
 
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