- Date
- March 11, 1989, 12:05 local (17:05 UTC)
- Place
- Delaware, OH
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N443JAAlexander RV-4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 29, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890311003589A
- Case key
- 7824
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Pilot inadvertently lost control of the aircraft which resulted in a stall spin and collision with the ground.
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 pilot was observed to be on base to final for landing on runway 28 at Delaware municipal airport. He was at a normal altitude and speed when the aircraft suddenly rolled to a nose down attitude of approximately 30 degrees. This rolling and pitching down continued until the aircraft disappeared behind a clump of trees. Smoke rose immediately from the location of the impact. The two occupants were fatally injured and the aircraft destroyed by the crash and ensuing fire. The aircraft was a homebuilt RV-4 with approximately 70 hours total time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N443JA
- Reported as
- Alexander RV-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 16
- Airframe hours
- 70
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James K. Alexander
- Registered owner
- James K. Alexander
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · July 6, 1988 · 70 hours before
- Airport
- DLZ · Delaware Municipal, runway 28, 4,100 × 75 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
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 325 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CMH, 20 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.