- Date
- February 25, 1984, 10:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Des Moines, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N53BLRobert H. Low Mustang II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840225005759A
- Case key
- 33644
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
One of the purposes of the flt was for the plt to experience a takeoff at max gross wt. He put a 150 lb bag of cement in the right front seat to simulate the wt of a passenger, then initiated a takeoff from a sod rwy that was soft after a recent thaw, using 15 deg of flaps. The plt said that he lifted off prematurely & the acft settled back to the rwy & was slowed by the soft field conditions. Also, he said he waited too long to abort & the acft went off the end of the rwy & thru a fence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53BL
- Reported as
- Robert H. Low Mustang II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 589
- Airframe hours
- 28
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert H. Low
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 28, 1983 · 0 hours before
- Airport
- Y76 · Morningstar, runway 17, 2,893 × 170 ft, grass/turf
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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 428 total · 28 in this make and model · 370 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point -0 °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 N53BL · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.