Amateur-built Easy Riser accident near Augusta, Georgia, October 17, 2004
On October 17, 2004 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Easy Riser, registered N87EZ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Augusta, Georgia (Daniel Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin, and subsequent collision with the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 2004 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Augusta, Georgia · Daniel Field · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Easy Riser
- Registration
- N87EZ · registry record · serial JKM3
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to witnesses, the pilot was finishing the final demonstration and turning from downwind to left base at approximately 150 feet. The pilot stated that while he was banking the airplane to the left, he lost visual contact with the ground, and stalled the airplane. The airplane collided with the ground on the west end of runway 23. The post-accident examination of the airplane revealed the fuselage was buckled. No flight control or mechanical anomalies were reported by the pilot prior to the accident.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 650 hours in all; 200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Hirthmotoren F36A15 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DNL Augusta GA at 6:45 pm
- Destination: DNL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 4,002 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.03 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from DNL
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.