- Date
- April 5, 1991, 17:42 local (22:42 UTC)
- Place
- Park Rapids, MN
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N334DFPaulbicke Bede 5B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 14848
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
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent spin.
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 was observed flying his modified homebuilt airplane over the departure airport after a 20 minute local flight. A witness stated that the airplane was at an estimated altitude of 3,500 feet when it entered a spiral/spin and descended to the ground. Federal investigators were not notified of the accident for several days, and the wreckage had been removed from the accident site. Aircraft records and pilot logbooks were not located. Post-accident examination of the wreckage was conducted in the hangar where it was stored, and revealed no evidence of pre-impact malfunction/difficulty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N334DF
- Reported as
- Paulbicke Bede 5B
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2334
- Engine
- Honda D15B2, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald Paulbicke
- Registered owner
- Ronald Paulbicke
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PKD, 2 nm away