- Date
- April 27, 1989, 06:30 local (11:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ainsworth, NE
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N20BSMaule M-5
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890427010319A
- Case key
- 34679
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 pilot continued flight into IFR conditions and the loss of aicraft control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident were the cloud conditions and fog.
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 took off into known adverse weather conditions after filing a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. The aircraft entered instrument meteorological flight conditions. The pilot failed to maintain control of the aircraft. The aircraft impacted in an extreme nose low attitude in an open field near the departure airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20BS
- Reported as
- Maule M-5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5036C
- Engine
- Franklin 6A-350-C1, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Selix, Leroy
- Registered owner
- Selix, Leroy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ANW · Ainsworth, NE
- Destination
- C09 · Morris, IL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- ANW
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
- 31
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 423 total · 12 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ANW, 3 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.
Other investigations on N20BS · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.