- Date
- March 22, 1985, 18:55 local (23:55 UTC)
- Place
- Okeechobee, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N5867LGrumman AA-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 31374
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
While in cruise flt the plt placed the acft in a dive to avoid what appeared to be the landing light of another acft. The light was actually a space vehicle which had just been launched from cape canaveral air force station 60 miles from the acft's position. During the dive the plt exceeded the limitations of the acft causing damage to the acft's tailsurfaces which began to flutter after level flt was regained. During the following emergency landing in a fld, the acft struck a fence post and nosed up, collapsing the nose landing gear.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5867L
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5-0067
- Airframe hours
- 1,480
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2G, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Roman A. Swiezy
- Registered owner
- Stan L. Swiezy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 8, 1984 · 167 hours before
- Departed
- LAL · Lakeland, FL
- Destination
- FPR · Fort Pierce, FL
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 947 total · 163 in this make and model · 743 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB, 32 nm away