- Date
- January 22, 1989, 12:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N44MELehman/Jerrell Vans RV-4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890122000929A
- Case key
- 26130
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
Poor judgement by the pilot in attempting and then improperly performing an aerobatic maneuver after takeoff, resulting in a stall/spin to the ground.
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 flight just after takeoff, the airplane was observed to fly the length of the runway at approximately 5-7 feet AGL. At the end of the runway, the airplane went into a steep climb to 200-300 feet AGL then rolled to the left. The nose pitched down and the airplane descended in a spin until collision with the terrain. No evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane was found. The acft had a total flt time of 119 hours. The airplane had been certified on 8/20/88. The pilot was also the owner of the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44ME
- Reported as
- Lehman/Jerrell Vans RV-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 397
- Airframe hours
- 119
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lehman Douglas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 20, 1988 · 119 hours before
- Airport
- 40E · Lacholla Airpark, runway 19, 3,400 × 36 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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 300 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 2° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS, 20 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.