- Date
- April 18, 1987, 08:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N100VLDevore Sunbird 100
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 8, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870418010099A
- Case key
- 17207
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
An experimental designed prototype acft was being flown on its first flt. The acft took off and flew in ground effect beyond the arpt boundary. At full pwr, the acft could not maintain altitude and descended uncontrolled to an impact with the terrain. The nose gear collapsed and the acft nosed over. Original design of the acft was 950 lbs gw with a 60 HP eng. As this prototype was equipped its climb rate was a minus 75 ft/min. In a post flt test the involved eng produced less than 40 HP. The acc plt stepped into the program 10 days before the acc after the original contracted test plt quit. The test was flown in spite of some of the technicians skepticism of success.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N100VL
- Reported as
- Devore Sunbird 100
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Engine
- Emdair 2 CYCLE, 45 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Verilite Aircraft Co. Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- ABQ · Albuquerque, NM
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,888 total · 2,700 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 80 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 2 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.