- Date
- April 15, 1989, 14:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Bluffton, IN
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9479LAmerican AA-1A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890415008009A
- Case key
- 14218
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 airspeed resulting in a stall/spin by the pilot. Factors related to the accident were: a tailwind and wrong runway selected by the pilot.
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 reported seeing the pilot attempt to land on runway 27. The landing was aborted. During the climb out, the airplane was observed to enter a steep climbing right turn. During the turn, the airplane stalled and descended to impact with the terrain. Witnesses reported that a tail wind existed for runway 27. The pilot of another airplane which was accompanying N9479L during its flight stated he informed the accident pilot of the tailwind condition.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9479L
- Reported as
- American AA-1A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA-1A-0279
- Airframe hours
- 1,332
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Blair, H. Elbert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 10, 1988 · 7 hours before
- Airport
- C40 · Miller, runway 27, 2,600 × 90 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
- 73
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 202 total · 30 in this make and model · 138 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FWA, 17 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.