# NTSB NYC93LA130: Luscombe 8A, N71155, Beach City, OH, June 20, 1993 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 20, 1993, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC) - Place: Beach City, OH - Coordinates: 40.650196, -81.579658 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.6502&lon=-81.5797&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 13, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 38614 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC93LA130 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/38614/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC93LA130 ## Probable cause THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED AND HIS DIVERTED ATTENTION WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT STALL AND INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH THE GROUND. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, approach - airspeed - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - diverted attention, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis THE AIRPLANE WAS ON APPROACH TO AND COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND SHORT OF RUNWAY 28. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, ' . . . FLEW PATTERN NORMALLY ON DOWNWIND AND BASE. ON FINAL SAW (A PITTS SPECIAL AIRPLANE) DOING AEROBATICS BY THE RUNWAY. LOST SIGHT OF PLANE, MADE TURNS TO FIND HIM. WHEN I WAS 20 TO 30 FEET ABOVE GROUND, I SAW HIM 200 FEET AWAY GOING STRAIGHT DOWN. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING WHEN HE WENT BELOW MY LINE OF SIGHT. DURING DISTRACTION, I STALLED THE PLANE. TOO LOW TO RECOVER.' THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE AEROBATIC AIRPLANE WAS ISSUED A WAIVER TO CONDUCT FLIGHT IN THE AREA. ## Factual narrative On Sunday, June 20, 1993, at 0930 eastern daylight time, a Luscombe 8A, N71155, owned and operated by William A. King, of LaGrange, Ohio, made a hard landing at Beach City, Ohio. The airplane received substantial damage and the occupants were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operated under 14 CFR 91. In the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot stated: ...On final saw Pitts doing aerobatics by runway. Lost sight of plane. Made turns to find him. When I was 20-30 ft, above ground I saw him 200 feet away going straight down. I didn't know where he was going when he went below my line of sight. During distraction I stalled plane, too low to recover. According to Mr. George S. Ream, an operations inspector with the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office, the airport was the site of a fly-in breakfast and numerous airplane were arriving.The aerobatic pilot was operating in an approved area on a waiver issued by the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N71155](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N71155), registered now, S/N 2582, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: LUSCOMBE 8A - Registry model: [Luscombe 8A](https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8a) (registry code 8190104) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1260 - Airframe hours: 3041 - Engines: CONTINENTAL A75-8 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Glen W. & William A. King - Registered owner: William A. King - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Provisional (Special); Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 14, 1992, 15 hours before - Departed: 1G1, ELYRIA, OH - Airport: 2D7, Beach City, runway 28, 2,622 × 115 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 39; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 1,221 total, 400 in this make and model, 1,126 as pilot in command, 9 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19930620027599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19930620027599A), Jun 20, 1993: Luscom 8A, Beach City, OH, Substantial damage. Distracted on landing by air show acrobatics on airport. Stalled dropped three ft to runway. Airshow approved area. ## Other investigations on N71155 (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB GAA19CA127](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA19CA127), Jan 5, 2019: Luscombe 8 (N71155), Casa Grande, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain yaw control and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during an aborted landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.