- Date
- July 1, 1991, 19:22 local (23:22 UTC)
- Place
- Mayville, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N891DSSterns Sterns Longster
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910701025179A
- Case key
- 36749
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 pilot to maintain airspeed, which resulted in a stall and spin at a low altitude. Also causal to the accident was the lack of experience of the pilot in this make and model airplane.
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 was flying the experimental, home-built airplane for the first time. He expressed reservations about flying the airplane. The pilot's family arrived at the airport with a video camera to record the flight. After much hesitation, the pilot took off. He circled the airport for several minutes at a low altitude. Then the airplane stalled and spun into the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N891DS
- Reported as
- Sterns Sterns Longster (STERNS LON)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 5
- Engine
- Volkswagen 07, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dick R. Stearns
- Registered owner
- Dick R. Stearns
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 25, 1991 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- D79 · Mayville, NY
- Airport
- D79 · Dart Airfield, runway 31, 2,700 × 75 ft
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 300 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFD, 20 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.