- Date
- July 21, 1988, 16:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Greenland, NH
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N20973Waco UPF-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 29, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880721027229A
- Case key
- 36189
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 intention of the flight was to give people at an annual company picnic a ride in the aircraft. After takeoff and while starting a left turn the pilot stated that he encountered a 'sudden windshear/downdraft.' The aircraft never got above 200 feet and collided with a tree during the recovery. The pilot indicated that the winds were gusting to 25 knots and that the aircraft got into a 'stall condition during the turn to downwind'.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20973
- Reported as
- Waco UPF-7
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5319
- Airframe hours
- 3,271
- Engine
- Continental W-670, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Al & Audrey Speckman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 9, 1987 · 71 hours before
- Departed
- Greenland, NH
- Airport
- Sanderson Field, runway 9, 2,700 × 50 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
- 45
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 100 in this make and model · 150 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 79 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.