- Date
- June 4, 1989, 13:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Mansfield, WA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N5321UCushing 4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890604014309A
- Case key
- 40919
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 left wing main spar due to overload for undetermined reasons.
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 left wing of the homebuilt separated in flight. The wing main spar was a heavy wooden beam with metal reinforcement plates bolted to the fore and aft surfaces that extended through the aircraft cabin. The spar was found broken adjacent to the left side of the cabin, through bolt holes at the metal reinforcement brackets. The wood splinters in the fractured spar were bent toward the top surface of the wing. There was no evidence of fatigue cracking or dry rotting.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5321U
- Reported as
- Cushing 4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 7-12
- Engine
- GM CORVAIR 110, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Leonard H. Cushing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- S35 · Okanogan, WA
- Destination
- WA97 · Buena, WA
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,009 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 36 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.