Accident Van's RV-4 N44ME, Sunday 22 January 1989
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Date:Sunday 22 January 1989
Time:12:30
Type:Silhouette image of generic RV4 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Van's RV-4
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N44ME
MSN: 397
Total airframe hrs:119 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-320-D3G
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Tucson, AZ -   United States of America
Phase: Take off
Nature:Private
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
DURING A LOCAL FLIGHT JUST AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO FLY THE LENGTH OF THE RUNWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 5-7 FEET AGL. AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY, THE AIRPLANE WENT INTO A STEEP CLIMB TO 200-300 FEET AGL THEN ROLLED TO THE LEFT. THE NOSE PITCHED DOWN AND THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED IN A SPIN UNTIL COLLISION WITH THE TERRAIN. NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS OF THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND. THE ACFT HAD A TOTAL FLT TIME OF 119 HOURS. THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN CERTIFIED ON 8/20/88. THE PILOT WAS ALSO THE OWNER OF THE AIRCRAFT. CAUSE: POOR JUDGEMENT BY THE PILOT IN ATTEMPTING AND THEN IMPROPERLY PERFORMING AN AEROBATIC MANEUVER AFTER TAKEOFF, RESULTING IN A STALL/SPIN TO THE GROUND.

Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: LAX89DUJ04
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001213X27594

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
24-Oct-2008 10:30 ASN archive Added
21-Dec-2016 19:23 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ]

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