- Date
- October 26, 1985, 10:13 local (15:13 UTC)
- Place
- Cape Girardeau, MO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N548BDBede BD-5B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851026056289A
- Case key
- 34080
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
The owner/builder had hired the plt to test fly the acft on its initial flt. Shortly after takeoff, the plt transmitted that he had an eng problem. He was cleared for an immediate landing & entered a downwind for rwy 28. As he continued & was turning from a base to final apch, the acft entered a spin in the opposite direction. The acft impacted on the edge of an interstate highway while in a steep nose-down attitude. An exam of the eng revealed the #1 cyclinder spark plug wire was completely detached; the #2 cylinder wire was detached from the spark plug (altho its dust boot was still connected); & the #4 spark plug wire dust boot showed evidence of having come in contact with an adjacent exhaust stack & was burned until there was separation at the boot's midpoint.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N548BD
- Reported as
- Bede BD-5B
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 548
- Engine
- Honda E2B, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dr. John T. Growe
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 12, 1985 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- CGI
- Destination
- CGI
- Airport
- CGI · Cape Girardeau Muni, runway 28, 6,499 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 450 total · 40 in this make and model · 450 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CGI, 43 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.