- Date
- February 22, 1985, 10:51 local (15:51 UTC)
- Place
- Morrisville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5275UMcclellan J. Grote Dragonfly
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850222005039A
- Case key
- 6666
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The owner/builder had prepared the acft for its 1st flt. This preparation included high speed taxi tests, a brake line repair & eng adjustments. Two 17.6 lb barbell weights were tied to the wing lift bulkhead with 5/16 inch hemp rope for purposes of weight & balance. A decision was made for the owner's father, an experienced plt, to fly the initial test flt. The plt made a high speed run with an option to takeoff & aborted when the eng developed a miss. He then performed a satisfactory run-up & took off on the next attempt. After taking off, the plt remained in the traffic pattern & turned onto a downwind for rwy 23. The acft then nosed over & crashed in a near vertical descent. An exam of the flt control sys revealed no evidence of a preimpact malfunction. All fractures showed evidence of overload failure. The ballast weights were not secured in accordance with normal aeronautical practices. There was evidence that they could have come loose & jammed the flt controls or shifted the CG.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5275U
- Reported as
- Mcclellan J. Grote Dragonfly
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 9-84-573
- Engine
- Volkswagen 60-2DM/1834CC, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Mcclellan J. Grote
- Registered owner
- Mcclellan J. Grote
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · December 13, 1984 · 0 hours before
- Airport
- RDU · Raleigh/Durham, runway 23, 7,500 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 11,819 total · 2 in this make and model · 130 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.