- Date
- April 24, 1988, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gaithersburg, MD
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N47CLLamb Shoestring S-102
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880424071379A
- Case key
- 11348
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 pilot inproperly performing aerobatics without sufficient altitude to complete a recovery.
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
According to witnesses, the plt made several takeoffs and landings prior to departing the airport area. The acft was next seen at an alt of aprx 300 ft AGL over a land-fill aprx 2 miles from the arpt. The acft entered a 360 deg turn with 60 degs bank. The plt then made a barrel roll followed by a left wing over. The witness stated he saw the wing flutter and the acft entered a steep nose down attitude prior to contacting the trees and terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47CL
- Reported as
- Lamb Shoestring S-102 (SHOESTRING)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CL102
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jonathan Woodner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- GAI · Gaithersburg, MD
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 16 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BWI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.