# Accident 20031003028589A: Luscom 8E, Orange City, IA, October 3, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 3, 2003
- Place: Orange City, IA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.9903° N, 96.0628° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.9903&lon=-96.0628&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1909K, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1909K-2004-05-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Luscombe 8E (registry code 8190112, https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LUSCOM 8E
- Reported engine: CONT C8512F
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 359 total, 192 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI04LA003](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04LA003) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031003028589A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) THE AIRCRAFT APPROACHED FROM THE WEST, HIT THE TOPS OF TREES APPROXIMATELY 40 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, BROKE OFF THE OUTBOARD 3 FEET OF THE LEFT WING, AND IMPACTED THE GROUND IN AN ALMOST VERTICAL ATTITUDE APPROXIMATELY 10 YARDS FROM THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT WITH THE TOPS OF THE TREES. AN ELT ACTIVATION WAS REPORTED AT APPROXIMATELY 1400 LOCAL TIME. THE WRECKAGE WAS DISCOVERED AT APPROXIMATELY 1800 LOCAL TIME. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI04LA003](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04LA003), Oct 3, 2003: Luscombe 8E (N1909K), Orange City, IA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance from the trees while manuevering at a low altitude. A factor was the trees.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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