- Date
- July 2, 1989, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chualar, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N81DProgress Aero R&D Discovery
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890702019159A
- Case key
- 26176
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 experimental aircraft's inadvertent entry into a non-recoverable flat spin during a slow airspeed test; the aerodynamic characteristics that produced the spin were not determined.
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 experimental composite structured acft was on a test flt. Drg a slow airspeed test, it entered a flat spin from which the plt was unable to recover by using normal controls. The acft was equipped with a ballistic parachute. The plt deployed the chute & shut down the eng. Subsequently, the acft touched down with a parachute descent rate of about 1800 ft/min. Drg touchdown, the plt suffered neck & back injuries. He rprtd that drg the flt, all flt control surfaces responded normally to his control inputs. The aerodynamic characteristics which produced the spin were not identified.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81D
- Reported as
- Progress Aero R&D Discovery
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 101
- Airframe hours
- 50
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Progress Aero R And D
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1989 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- MRY · Monterey, 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
- 34
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,000 total · 20 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 175 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 125° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 32.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.