- Date
- October 16, 1988, 15:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Erie, CO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N69272Hicks/Mervin RH-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881016048529A
- Case key
- 17550
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.
Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction
Fuselage - failure,totalCause
Maintenance,inspection - inadequateCause
In flight collision with terrain/water
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69272
- Reported as
- Hicks/Mervin RH-3
- Category
- Glider, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 651
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hicks, Mervin Lucius
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 3, 1988 · 22 hours before
N69272Registration cancelled May 2, 2013 · Ross Hicks Sailplane RH-3Airframe modelRoss Hicks Sailplane RH-3Engine modelNONE
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
- 78
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,607 total · 2,607 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APA, 32 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.