- Date
- May 8, 1988, 08:20 local (15:20 UTC)
- Place
- Marana, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N89WSStarr Bumble BEE II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880508013179A
- Case key
- 25725
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 airplane was on its first flight since being certified. The pilot had overhauled the engine 2.5 hours prior to the flight. During the climb the engine lost power. The airplane rolled to the left and collided with a utility pole then the ground. The pilot said he could not remember what happened.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N89WS
- Reported as
- Starr Bumble BEE II (BUMBLE BEE)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Engine
- unknown II, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert H. Starr
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- MZJ · Marana, runway 30, 6,860 × 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
- 64
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 7 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS, 30 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.