- Date
- July 4, 1993, 15:10 local (19:10 UTC)
- Place
- New York, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N832USUS/Lta 138S Airship
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 17, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19930704021969A
- Case key
- 11874
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
Inadequate design of, and design standards for, the airship which resulted in an envelope failure following separation of a portion of the night sign equipment.
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 reported that while cruising at 800 ft he experienced severe buffeting with a subsequent loss of directional control. He was losing altitude so he increased engine power to reduce his sink rate. The passenger reported to the pilot that the night sign seemed to be coming loose. The airship came to rest draped over a seven story building. A witness reported seeing the airship heading south. He reported that it seemed normal; however, shortly thereafter he noticed a hole on the underside which kept getting larger. Prior to the tear the witness reported seeing a small dark mass with a white flexible material fall from the airship. Examination of the airship revealed that a section of the right banner, which was secured to the envelope by velcro tape, and a projector, which was laced to a lacing strip glued to the envelope, had separated tearing the envelope. The envelope did not contain seams to prevent tears nor was the fabric tear resistant. However the fabric met or exceeded design and FAA regulatory strength limits.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N832US
- Reported as
- US/Lta 138S Airship (138S AIRSH)
- Category
- Blimp
- Serial number
- 002
- Airframe hours
- 300
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K2A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- US/Lta Corporation
- Registered owner
- US/Lta Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 2, 1993 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- BED · Bedford, MA
- Destination
- LDJ · Linden, NJ
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,100 total · 250 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 13 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LGA, 1 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.
Other investigations on N832US · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.