- Date
- January 28, 1989, 17:15 local (Jan 29, 1989, 01:15 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Elsinore, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3550GSilvaire 8F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890128001409A
- Case key
- 26209
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
Loss of aircraft control due to improper and/or unapproved modifications to the aircraft's aileron control system by the pilot/owner. A contributing factor was the pilot/owner's overconfidence in his ability to modify the aileron control system without approval by the manufacturer or the FAA.
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
Immediately after takeoff, at 300-400 ft AGL, the acft suddenly rolled into a 90 deg bank to the right and spun to the ground. The pilot/owner had performed modifications to the aileron control system which were contrary to the manufacturer's specifications and without FAA approval. Another Luscombe pilot/owner had performed the same modification of the aileron's rigging to his own acft which resulted in the acft's roll becoming unstable when banking over 30 deg. He informed the accident pilot that the aileron rigging modification had proved unsatisfactory. Another modification was the removal of fairleads which were originally located in the area of the door posts and replaced with metal pulleys. The pilot had been diabetic for over 20 years; no mention of this on the pilot's medical applications.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3550G
- Reported as
- Silvaire 8F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- S-82
- Engine
- Continental C-90-12-F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Steven M. Grant
- Registered owner
- Steven And Marianne Grant
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CL47 · Lake Elsinore, CA
- Destination
- L66 · Corona, CA
- Airport
- CL47 · Skylark, runway 29R, 2,800 × ft, dirt
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 300 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3550G · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.