- Date
- September 30, 1990, 15:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Reinbeck, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N47166Palen Sopwith Dolphin
- Weather
- Not reported
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900930043979A
- Case key
- 36501
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
Undetermined engine failure during low altitude operations.
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 stated that he was making a low pass over the runway during an antique aircraft exhibition when he heard a loud bang and the engine began to run rough. He started to turn around to land on the runway. The homebuilt airplane was over a wooded area adjacent to the runway, about fifteen feet above the treetops, when the engine failed completely. The airplane descended into the trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47166
- Reported as
- Palen Sopwith Dolphin (SOPWITH DO)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1533
- Engine
- Hispano Suiza, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Palen, James
- Departed
- Reinbeck, NY
- Destination
- Reinbeck, NY
- Airport
- NONE · Reinbekc Aerodrome
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Weather
- Conditions
- Not reported
- Temperature
- -0 °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.