Amateur-built Bowers Fly Baby 1A accident near Lincoln, Alabama, July 3, 2003
On July 3, 2003 at about 4:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Bowers Fly Baby 1A, registered N197DE, was destroyed in an accident near Lincoln, Alabama. 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 pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering resulting in a stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 3, 2003 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lincoln, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Bowers Fly Baby 1A
- Registration
- N197DE · no longer on the register · serial 74-24
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was observed by a witness flying over a tree line. The nose of the airplane was observed to pitch up to about a 70-degree nose high attitude. The left wing dropped down and the nose pitched down as if the airplane was in a stall and collided with the ground. Examination of the airframe, flight controls and engine assembly revealed no anomalies. The left wing was compressed aft and received accordion crushing from the wing root extending outboard to the wing tip. The Fly Baby 1A Ultra light plans revealed that the stall speed for the Bowers Fly Baby 1A airplane is 45 mph.
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
- Flight time: 171 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 87 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 25, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 106 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 11, 2003; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 925 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental AC65 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ASN Talladega AL at 3:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,400 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from ANB, 13 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.