19890512011319A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Amtrsm DSA-1 · Sterling, CT · May 12, 1989

Date: May 12, 1989 · 12:10 local
Place: Sterling, CT
Phase of flight: Descent
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N21H
NTSB investigation: NTSBNYC89DNE02
Reported as: Amtrsm DSA1
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 1
Pilot’s flight hours: 600 total3 in this make and model

N21HRegistration cancelled Aug 21, 1991 · Smith Miniplane DSA-1S/N 384015A Airframe modelSmith Miniplane DSA-1

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Low altitude acrobatics. Hammerhead stall. Entered inverted spiral, stopped rotation dived vertically into ground.

As the FAA filed it

LOW ALTITUDE ACROBATICS. HAMMERHEAD STALL. ENTERED INVERTED SPIRAL, STOPPED ROTATION DIVED VERTICALLY INTO GROUND.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB NYC89DNE02Accident · 1 fatalFinal reportSterling, CTThe pilot's failure to maintain control of the experimental aircraft while performing aerobatic maneuvers, and the aircraft's resultant uncontrolled descent into the ground.May 12, 1989 · Substantial damage