- Date
- September 27, 1991, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Raton, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N123LHAbernathy LONG-EZ
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910927043519A
- Case key
- 18138
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
Physical impairment of the pilot. Factors were: rough terrain.
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
As the pilot was preparing to land, he found the flight controls to be stiff. To keep the nose raised for landing, he was forced to make a high speed approach. The landing gear was severed during ground impact. The pilot was later hospitalized with a brain tumor that caused paralysis on the right side. No evidence of preimpact flight control failure or malfunction was found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N123LH
- Reported as
- Abernathy LONG-EZ
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A3, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Harry E. Abernathy
- Registered owner
- Harry E. Abernathy
- Departed
- RTN · Raton, NM
- Airport
- RTN · Crews Field
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 7,000 total · 10 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.