- Date
- May 1, 1988, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Friendswood, TX
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N331LBNew Rutan LONG-EZE
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880501011149A
- Case key
- 22479
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
The pilot overrotated the aircraft on takeoff to a nose high attitude, then overcontrolled in the opposite direction to get the nose down. The aircraft touched down nose gear first and all three landing gears collapsed, a wing sheared off, and the aircraft rolled over inverted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N331LB
- Reported as
- New Rutan LONG-EZE (RUTAN LONG)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1151
- Airframe hours
- 28
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- New Leo
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 1, 1988 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- TO2 · Friendswood, TX
- Airport
- T02 · Friendswood, runway 14, 4,322 × 70 ft, asphalt
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 27,170 total · 28 in this make and model · 27,170 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.