- Date
- July 9, 1989, 14:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Bealeton, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N56940Boeing A75N1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890709020979A
- Case key
- 11517
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
Water in the fuel, which resulted in a momentary loss of power during an inverted low pass, and the pilot's failure to plan the maneuver to allow for appropriate remedial action.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N56940
- Reported as
- Boeing A75N1 (A75N-1)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 75-725
- Airframe hours
- 3,139
- Engine
- P&W R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Flying Circus Airshows, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Flying Circus, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1989 · 6 hours before
- Airport
- 3VA3 · Flying Circus, runway 16, 2,500 × 150 ft, grass/turf
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
- 61
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 33,000 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 30,000 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IAD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N56940 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.