- Date
- April 15, 1990, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Creswell, NC
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N602SKAirship Industries Airship 600
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900415013279A
- Case key
- 8123
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
The failure of the electronic ignition units as the airship traversed the directional antenna beam of a high intensity radiated electromagnetic field (hirf). Factors related to the accident were: the unfavorable wind and the lack of hirf certification standards for airships at the time of FAA certification.
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
While cruising at 700 ft on a cross-country flight, the airship had a complete loss of power in both engines. Subsequently, the airship collided with trees & the terrain during a forced landing in 20 kt winds. An investigation revealed that the airship had traversed the beam of a highly directional radio frequency broadcast from a voice of america antenna. The signal radiating from the antenna had been demonstrated to damage electronic ignition control units of the same type used on the airship engines. Subsequent tests of the failed ignition units showed that the failure mode in this accident replicated the failures of the previously tested ignition units. At the time of certification, airship requirements for hirf (high intnesity radiated electromagnetic fields) testing had not been issued.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N602SK
- Reported as
- Airship Industries Airship 600 (AIRSHIP 60)
- Category
- Blimp
- Serial number
- 1215/07
- Airframe hours
- 2,348
- Engine
- Porsche 930/67/A1/3, 255 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Airship Industries
- Registered owner
- Orix Commercial Credit, Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · April 12, 1990 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- ECG · Elizabeth City, NC
- Destination
- FLO · Florence, SC
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
- 42
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,200 total · 410 in this make and model · 2,050 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.