- Date
- June 10, 1990, 11:10 local (15:10 UTC)
- Place
- Lumberton, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N51LMason Hummel Bird
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 19, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900610019379A
- Case key
- 36554
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
Failure of the rudder attach bolt, which resulted in a loss of aircraft control and an uncontrolled descent to the ground.
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
According to witnesses, the pilot made a normal takeoff. When the aircraft had climbed to about 700 feet, the vertical stabilizer separated. The aircraft then went out of control and impacted the ground on the east side of the airport. An investigation revealed the rudder attach bolt had failed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51L
- Reported as
- Mason Hummel Bird (HUMMEL BIR)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- NCC1701
- Engine
- unknown, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mason, Larry L
- Departed
- 7MY · NJ
- Airport
- 7MY · South Jersey Regional, runway 8, 3,911 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MIV
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.