Senior Aero Sport D-260 accident near Valley City, Ohio, August 15, 1986
On August 15, 1986 at about 10:10 pm local time, a Senior Aero Sport D-260, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N35250, was destroyed in an accident near Valley City, Ohio. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. 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
- August 15, 1986 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Valley City, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Senior Aero Sport D-260, amateur-built
- Registration
- N35250 · no longer on the register · serial 10
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE ACFT WAS IN LVL FLT AT LOW ALT WHEN IT ENTERED A STEEP CLIMBING MANEUVER. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT & CRASHED IN APRX A 75 DEG NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE ACFT WAS IN A RIGHT BANK & WAS SPINNING OR SPIRALING TO THE RIGHT WHEN IT CRASHED. THERE WAS VIRTUALLY NO MOVEMENT AFTER IMPACT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THE PASSENGER'S BLOOD TESTED POSITIVE FOR ALCOHOL, BUT NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO SHOW THAT HE WAS FLYING THE ACFT.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,482 hours in all; 157 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 838 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 439 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1986; 42 hours since
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 19,000 ft; scat at 4,700 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from CLE, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.