- Date
- February 28, 1988, 00:00 local (05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Williamsburg, VA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N115MCPerkins Christen Eagle II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880228003609A
- Case key
- 11376
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
Witnesses saw the acft performing aerobatics which included loops and rolls. The acft was climbing in a loop when it suddenly pitched down and descended to the ground. Some witnesses said the acft was spinning as it descended.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N115MC
- Reported as
- Perkins Christen Eagle II (CHRISTEN E)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- P001
- Airframe hours
- 50
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Marcus E. Perkins
- Registered owner
- Marcus E. Perkins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · October 27, 1987 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- PHF · Newport News, VA
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Seat
- Rear
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 850 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 7 knots, gusting 5
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHF, 15 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.