- Date
- July 14, 1989, 06:24 local (13:24 UTC)
- Place
- Somerton, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N29162Christen Industries A-1 Husky
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 26235
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall. The lack of altitude for recovery was a related factor.
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
A christen industries husky A-1 operated by the us border patrol as a public use aircraft collided with flat desert terrain. The pilot was visually tracking footprints near the us-mexican border. The aircraft was observed orbiting at a low altitude shortly before entering a steep turn during which the nose pitched down. The aircraft impacted the ground in a nose down attitude & a post impact fire erupted. The flaps were determined to be in the 20 deg setting. The rear seat back assembly was determined to be unlatched at the time of impact, the airplane flight manual had performance information concerning stall characteristics of the airplane. The manual indicated an altitude loss of 150 ft during power off stalls. The aircraft flight manual indicated the use of 30 deg flaps for all flight maneuvers requiring flaps.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29162
- Reported as
- Christen Industries A-1 Husky
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1029
- Airframe hours
- 486
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C7G, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Registered owner
- US Border Patrol
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 15, 1989 · 84 hours before
- Departed
- YUM · Yuma, AZ
- Airport
- YUM · Yuma Int'L
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
- 48
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 8,175 total · 112 in this make and model · 8,019 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None