Amateur-built ACRO MR3 accident near Clio, South Carolina, April 26, 1986
On April 26, 1986 at about 4:45 pm local time, a amateur-built ACRO MR3, registered N3MR, was destroyed in an accident near Clio, South Carolina (Clio CORP Care airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- April 26, 1986 · about 4:45 pm local time
- Place
- Clio, South Carolina · Clio CORP Care · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built ACRO MR3
- Registration
- N3MR · registry record · serial 100
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE HOME-BUILT ACFT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF AILERON CONTROL DURING LNDG. HE CONTINUED THE LNDG, USING THE RUDDER AND THROTTLE TO CONTROL THE ACFT. THE ACFT HIT A TREE-TOP ADJACENT TO THE RWY AND CRASHED INTO A PLOWED FIELD NEXT TO THE ARPT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE ACFT BEGAN BURNING AND WAS TOTALLY DESTROYED. THE CAUSE OF THE REPORTED AILERON MALFUNCTION COULD NOT BE DETERMINED DUE TO THE FIRE DAMAGE.
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: 2,108 hours in all; 308 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 577 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, March 7, 1986; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: TRA Raleigh NC at 3:05 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 2,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:52 pm from FLO, 25 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.