- Date
- October 20, 1989, 13:48 local (20:48 UTC)
- Place
- Eloy, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N120TMRand Engineering KR-II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891020041949A
- Case key
- 26543
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 failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft, and his failure to discontinue the approach when it became evident that the gusting cross winds were exceeding the ability of the aircraft.
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
There were two witnesses to the accident, one was located on the airport and the second was another pilot in an aircraft traveling in company with the accident aircraft. The pilot witness attempted to land at the airport first, however, elected to go around due to the strong gusting cross winds he encountered on final. The ground witness on the airport stated that he watched the accident aircraft on final approach. The witness observed that the aircraft was 'having trouble with control in the strong cross wind.' He reported that the aircraft was at about 30 feet AGL on final when a sudden strong gust 'lifted the airplane upside down and the plane then dropped and struck the ground'.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N120TM
- Reported as
- Rand Engineering KR-II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- KR-7455
- Engine
- Revmaster 2100, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Theodore J. Monto
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- HMT · Hemet-Ryan, CA
- Destination
- CZG · Casa Grande, AZ
- Airport
- E60 · Eloy Municipal, runway 20, 3,900 × 60 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 502 total · 232 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 7 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS, 50 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.