What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Mr. Johnson was doing what was described by witnesses as aerobatic maneuvers over a friend's house. The plane was seen diving straight down, spiraling, directly at a witness on the ground. The witness thought the propeller was not turning. At a very low altitude the aircraft recovered from the dive and the witness thought the propeller started turning slowly, as if it were being turned by the starter. The aircraft hit a tree about ¼ mile away and crashed on the edge of swamp.
As the FAA filed it
MR. JOHNSON WAS DOING WHAT WAS DESCRIBED BY WITNESSES AS AEROBATIC MANEUVERS OVER A FRIEND'S HOUSE. THE PLANE WAS SEEN DIVING STRAIGHT DOWN, SPIRALING, DIRECTLY AT A WITNESS ON THE GROUND. THE WITNESS THOUGHT THE PROPELLER WAS NOT TURNING. AT A VERY LOW ALTITUDE THE AIRCRAFT RECOVERED FROM THE DIVE AND THE WITNESS THOUGHT THE PROPELLER STARTED TURNING SLOWLY, AS IF IT WERE BEING TURNED BY THE STARTER. THE AIRCRAFT HIT A TREE ABOUT ¼ MILE AWAY AND CRASHED ON THE EDGE OF SWAMP.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.