# NTSB investigations, 1987: Uncontrolled descent

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB MKC88FA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC88FA018.md): Cessna 310Q · Augusta, KS · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 19, 1987 · N7735A · Destroyed
  > The airplane departed to the south and made a left turn. Approximately 1/4 of a mile east of the airport, the airplane impacted straight down with gear down and flaps at 15 degrees. No preimpact problems were found with airframe or powerplants. No indication…
- [NTSB DEN88LA025](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN88LA025.md): Hughes 269C · Grand Forks, ND · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Nov 19, 1987 · N11079 · Substantial damage
  > The CFI was instructing the pvt rated dual student in simulated forced landings. During the power recovery following a practice autorotation, the engine failed to regain RPM at full throttle. During the forced landing, the helicopter nosed over at touchdown…
- [NTSB NYC88FA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC88FA032.md): Beech F-33A · Forked River, NJ · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 1, 1987 · N333JL · Destroyed
  > The pilot and passenger departed white plains, new york on a VFR flight to kill devil hills, north carolina. Search efforts were initiated when the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination. A witness in a hunting camp near the crashsite saw the aircraft…
- [NTSB ATL87FA268](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL87FA268.md): Beech 95-B55 · Manteo, NC · Accident · 5 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Sep 30, 1987 · N6343X · Destroyed
  > Witness observed acft settle into ocean during low level cruise flt adjacent to beach. Wx was ovrcst, indistinct horizon & calm sea. IFR flt plan had been filed but no contact was made with ATC. Engines and propeller examination did not reveal a mechanical…
- [NTSB DEN87LA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN87LA172.md): Piper PA-38-112 · Pagosa Springs, CO · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 3, 1987 · N25655 · Substantial damage
  > The commercial plt and a friend departed aztec, new Mexico, with the intention of flying over wolf creek pass en route to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He said the acft would not climb over the pass and the acft collided with trees in mountainous terrain. The…
- [NTSB FTW87DRD06](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW87DRD06.md): Air Command 532 · St.Francisville, LA · Accident · 1 fatal · Final report · Jun 28, 1987 · N532X · Destroyed
  > Witnesses observed the gyroplane flying at 10-15 feet AGL when it started a turn to the right. It continued the right turn and descended into the ground. Dr. Moore of the FAA sw regional flight surgeon's office stated that the plt had coronary disease and…
- [NTSB MIA87LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA87LA180.md): Taylorcraft BL-65 · Deland, FL · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 13, 1987 · N36130 · Substantial damage
  > The plt stated that just after take-off, the rt wing was lifted by a x-wind & the acft stalled & crashed into the trees. The plt stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had decreased the angle of attack after take-off & had made 'a turn into…
- [NTSB LAX87FA167](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX87FA167.md): Champion 7ECA · Upland, CA · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Apr 2, 1987 · N9655S · Destroyed
  > The pilot took off from his home airport for a sight-seeing, local flight over nearby mountains. Although the rear seat passenger weighed 270 lbs and the aircraft's fuel tanks were assumed to be full, there is no evidence that the pilot calculated the…
- [NTSB FTW87LA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW87LA073.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7-B · Broken Arrow, OK · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Mar 5, 1987 · N15253 · Substantial damage
  > The Balloon drifted into power lines just after liftoff. The pilot stated he was hooking up a new temperature gauge and did not notice that the Balloon was descending.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
WITH phase_names(main, name) AS (VALUES (100, 'Prior to flight'), (150, 'Standing'), (200, 'Pushback/towing'), (250, 'Taxi'), (300, 'Takeoff'), (350, 'Initial climb'), (400, 'Enroute'), (450, 'Maneuvering'), (500, 'Approach'), (550, 'Landing'), (600, 'Emergency descent'), (650, 'Uncontrolled descent'), (700, 'Post-impact'), (750, 'After landing'), (800, 'Other'), (990, 'Unknown')),
  crosswalk(code, main, name) AS (VALUES (500, 150, 'Standing'), (501, 150, 'Standing - pre-flight'), (502, 150, 'Standing - starting engine(s)'), (503, 150, 'Standing - engine(s) operating'), (504, 150, 'Standing - engine(s) not operating'), (505, 150, 'Standing - idling rotors'), (510, 250, 'Taxi'), (511, 200, 'Taxi - pushback/tow'), (512, 250, 'Taxi - to takeoff'), (513, 250, 'Taxi - from landing'), (514, 250, 'Taxi - aerial'), (520, 300, 'Takeoff'), (521, 300, 'Takeoff - roll/run'), (522, 350, 'Takeoff - initial climb'), (523, 300, 'Takeoff - aborted'), (530, 400, 'Climb'), (531, 400, 'Climb - to cruise'), (540, 400, 'Cruise'), (541, 400, 'Cruise - normal'), (542, 400, 'Maneuvering - holding (IFR)'), (550, 400, 'Descent'), (551, 400, 'Descent - normal'), (552, 600, 'Descent - emergency'), (553, 650, 'Descent - uncontrolled'), (560, 500, 'Approach'), (561, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - downwind'), (562, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - base turn'), (563, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - base leg/base to final'), (564, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - final approach'), (565, 500, 'Go-around (VFR)'), (566, 500, 'Approach - IAF to FAF/outer marker (IFR)'), (567, 500, 'Approach - FAF/outer marker to threshold (IFR)'), (568, 500, 'Circling (IFR)'), (569, 500, 'Missed approach (IFR)'), (570, 550, 'Landing'), (571, 550, 'Landing - flare/touchdown'), (572, 550, 'Landing - roll'), (573, 550, 'Landing - aborted'), (574, 550, 'Emergency landing'), (575, 550, 'Emergency landing after takeoff'), (576, 600, 'Emergency descent/landing'), (580, 450, 'Maneuvering'), (581, 450, 'Maneuvering - aerial application'), (582, 450, 'Maneuvering - turn to reverse direction'), (583, 450, 'Maneuvering - turn to landing area (emergency)'), (590, 450, 'Hover'), (591, 450, 'Hover - in ground effect'), (592, 450, 'Hover - out of ground effect'), (600, 800, 'Other'), (610, 990, 'Unknown')),
  current_codes AS (
    SELECT e.case_mkey, TRY_CAST(e."tier1Number" AS INTEGER) AS code,
      row_number() OVER (PARTITION BY e.case_mkey ORDER BY coalesce(e."isDefiningEvent", false) DESC, e.position) AS n
    FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e
    WHERE e.aircrafts_position = 1 AND e."tier1Number" GLOB '[1-9][0-9]*'
      AND (e."isDefiningEvent" OR e.case_mkey IN (SELECT "mKey" FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' WHERE "isPre1982"))
  ),
  phases AS (
    SELECT case_mkey, 'current' AS scheme, code, CASE WHEN code >= 990 THEN 990 ELSE code // 50 * 50 END AS main
    FROM current_codes WHERE n = 1
    UNION ALL
    SELECT o.case_mkey, 'older', o."phaseOfFlightCode", w.main
    FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_occurrences.parquet' o JOIN crosswalk w ON w.code = o."phaseOfFlightCode"
    WHERE o.aircrafts_position = 1 AND o."occurrenceNumber" = 1 AND o.case_mkey NOT IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM current_codes)
  ),
  case_phases AS (
    SELECT p.*, c."eventDate", c."highestInjuryLevel" = 'Fatal' AS fatal, a.aircraft_model_code
    FROM phases p JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c ON c."mKey" = p.case_mkey
    LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = p.case_mkey AND a.position = 1
    WHERE c."eventDate" >= DATE '1962-01-01' AND p.main IN (SELECT main FROM phase_names)
  )
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE year(c."eventDate") = 1987
  AND c."mKey" IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM case_phases WHERE main = 650)
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/650/cases?year=1987

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.