- Date
- April 20, 1989, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Stanwood, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4409DDonner/Parton Avid Flyer
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890420009539A
- Case key
- 41000
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
An ignition lead became disconnected from one cylinder, which resulted in a partial power loss. A factor related to the accident was: soft terrain in the touchdown area.
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
During flight, there was a loss of power from one of the cylinders of the aircraft's two cylinder engine. With insufficient power to continue flight, the pilot tried to land in a sod field. However, the aircraft touched down in a plowed field, short of the intended landing area, and nosed over. The pilot believed that one of the spark plug leads may have become disconnected.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4409D
- Reported as
- Donner/Parton Avid Flyer
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 13
- Airframe hours
- 97
- Engine
- Cuyuna 430R, 43 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Terry L. Botteron
- Registered owner
- Terry L Botteron
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 3, 1988 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- S88 · Arlington, 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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 606 total · 39 in this make and model · 493 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 135° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.