Amateur-built Longbow 150 accident near Oak Hill, Florida, January 10, 2002
On January 10, 2002 at about 3:42 pm local time, a amateur-built Longbow 150, registered N150LB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Oak Hill, Florida. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The improper modification of the exhaust muffler which resulted in fractures that enabled the contamination of the cabin heating and ventilation system. The pilot subsequently became incapacitated by carbon monoxide poisoning, and the airplane descended uncontrolled into terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 10, 2002 · about 3:42 pm local time
- Place
- Oak Hill, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Longbow 150
- Registration
- N150LB · registry record · serial 1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was observed to fly a circling maneuver, and then dive vertically into the ground with the engine running. Forensic toxicology revealed 31 percent carbon monoxide in the pilot's blood. Metallurgical examination of the exhaust muffler and heat exchanger assembly revealed the wall of the muffler was fractured through in the area where the exhaust pipe was welded to the muffler canister. Fracture surfaces darkly colored by corrosion were observed at the edge of the weld bead around the exhaust port over a circumference of approximately 180 degrees, and along several cracks branching outward from the weld bead. Fracture surfaces that displayed no corrosion branched out circumferentially from the corroded fracture surfaces on either end of the exhaust outlet. A review of Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular AC65-12A revealed in Chapter 2, Induction and Exhaust Systems, Exhaust System Repairs: "It is generally recommended that exhaust stacks, mufflers, tailpipes, etc., be replaced with new or reconditioned components rather than repaired".
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 23 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, November 10, 1997; 23 hours since
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TIX Titusville FL at 3:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from TIX, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.