- Date
- October 8, 1988, 14:48 local (18:48 UTC)
- Place
- Coldwater, MI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N131JTVolksplane VP-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881008045719A
- Case key
- 14215
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
A stall with entry into the incipient stage of a spin with insufficient altitude for 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
The acft was in local traffic pattern at approximately 300 feet AGL. Witnesses described the acft attitude as nose high, and the airspeed as slow as the pilot was turning downwind. Witnesses described the engine noise as loud. The acft rolled inverted and struck the ground in an aprx 60 degs nose low attitude.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N131JT
- Reported as
- Volksplane VP-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1902
- Airframe hours
- 122
- Engine
- Volkswagen 1500, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jerry M. Tomson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 7, 1988 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- D96 · Coldwater, MI
- Airport
- D96 · Branch Co Mem., runway 24, 4,700 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 122 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JXN, 34 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.