- Date
- April 18, 1990, 08:31 local (13:31 UTC)
- Place
- Alexandria, LA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N63BDStolt Acroduster II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900418010189A
- Case key
- 22983
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 misjudged the landing flare.
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 dissipating airspeed over the runway, in the open cockpit biplane. He said his helmet slipped back on his head and during his attempt to readjust it, the left wing came up and during his correction, the propeller started hitting the runway. He shut off the engine, flew further down the runway and landed. He said his next touchdown was smooth but the main gear collapsed, and the bottom of the fuselage started slidding on the runway. A fire started and as the pilot evacuated the airplane, he was burned on the face and hands. After he moved away from the airplane, more fire erupted in the airplane. Later investigation revealed that the main landing gear spread out and the fuselage bottom hit the runway on the first impact. Fire started with fuel from a broken fuel strainer valve.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N63BD
- Reported as
- Stolt Acroduster II (ACRODUSTER)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JDW-86
- Airframe hours
- 72
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Unk
- Registered owner
- Edwards, William K
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 20, 1990 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- ESF
- Airport
- ESF · Esler Reg., runway 8, 5,999 × 150 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
- 46
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 7,000 total · 3 in this make and model · 6,650 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ESF
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.