- Date
- August 23, 1986, 07:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ramona, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N42TJStar-Lite UNK
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860823041669A
- Case key
- 24955
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
During a local test flight of an experimental homebuilt acft, the plt was circling aprx 700 ft AGL when the right wing separated from the fuselage. The acft entered an uncontrollable steep angle dive and collided with the terrain. Inspection as to the construction of the acft revealed that the plt had altered the design of the acft from the published construction manual instructions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N42TJ
- Reported as
- Star-Lite UNK
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 135
- Airframe hours
- 8
- Engine
- Rotax 447-3558731, 40 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thomas E. Lynch
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · April 19, 1986 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- L39 · Ramona, CA
- Destination
- L-39 · Romona, CA
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 90 total · 8 in this make and model · 34 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.