- Date
- January 1, 1988, 11:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ft. Scott, KS
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N87LFFlagg Star Lite
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880101000049A
- Case key
- 34459
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 main spars at the attachment points inside the fuselage.
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 pilot had planned to make several passes over his parents' house. On the third pass witnesses observed a wing depart the aircraft and the aircraft fell from the sky. The aircraft came to rest in a river. Exam of the aircraft components revealed a spar and spar attachment failure. Comparison of the manufacturing process disclosed an improperly constructed main spar (where the spars attach to each other and to the fuselage). A review of the pilot's log books did not show any logged time in this aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N87LF
- Reported as
- Flagg Star Lite
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 113
- Engine
- Rotax 447, 40 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Vernon H. Pavey
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- FSK · Fort Scott, KS
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
- 34
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 281 total · 148 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 10 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 19 °F, dew point 1 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CNU, 35 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.