Amateur-built AA5A accident near Fayetteville, North Carolina, March 6, 1986
On March 6, 1986 at about 8:01 pm local time, a amateur-built AA5A, registered N26171, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fayetteville, North Carolina (Fayetteville Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- March 6, 1986 · about 8:01 pm local time
- Place
- Fayetteville, North Carolina · Fayetteville Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA5A
- Registration
- N26171 · no longer on the register · serial AA5A0463
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING LANDING ROLL THE PILOT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT GROUND LOOPED AND SWERVED OFF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE DILIGENT IN CORRECTING FOR THE CROSSWIND CONDITION.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,780 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 320 in the last 90 days; 1,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 2, 1985; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEB Laurinburg NC at 7:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 7,204 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:05 am from FAY
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.
Other NTSB records under N26171 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.