Amateur-built AA-5A accident near Dobbins Afb, Georgia, June 8, 1983
On June 8, 1983 at about 10:40 pm local time, a amateur-built AA-5A, registered N26116, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dobbins Afb, Georgia (Dobbins Afb airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 1983 · about 10:40 pm local time
- Place
- Dobbins Afb, Georgia · Dobbins Afb · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5A
- Registration
- N26116 · registry record · serial AA5A0437
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT PLT WAS TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF WHEN SHE APPLIED RIGHT BRAKE WHERE A RIGHT TURN WAS NEEDED, HOWEVER, THE ACFT DID NOT TURN AS IT SHOULD. THE INSTRUCTOR PLT THEN TOOK CONTROL OF THE ACFT. HE APPLIED RIGHT BRAKE, THEN BOTH BRAKES, BUT HAD NEGATIVE RESULTS. AT THAT POINT, THE ACFT WAS HEADED TOWARD A PORTABLE BUILDING. THE INSTRUCTOR TURNED OFF THE MAGNETO SWITCHES JUST BEFORE THE ACFT HIT THE BUILDING. THE INSTRUCTOR REPORTED THAT BOTH BRAKES WERE WORN, A PUCK WAS MISSING FROM THE LEFT BRAKE & 1/2 OF THE RIGHT BRAKE ROTOR/DISK HAD SEPARATED AT THE BASE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 385 hours in all; 74 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 303 as pilot in command; 40 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,570 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 14, 1983; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Atlanta Navy Flying Club
The flight
- Destination: MGE Marietta GA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:30 pm from MGE, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.