Amateur-built EAA BIPLANE 1 accident near Orrville, Ohio, May 23, 1987
On May 23, 1987 at about 9:15 pm local time, a amateur-built EAA BIPLANE 1, registered N11TB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Orrville, Ohio. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- May 23, 1987 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Orrville, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EAA BIPLANE 1 EAA BIPLAN
- Registration
- N11TB · no longer on the register · serial 296
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT LOST POWER AND WAS LANDED IN A CORN FIELD. LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED AND ACFT FLIPPED ONTO ITS BACK. MIXTURE CABLE SET SCREW ON CARBURETOR WAS FOUND LOOSE ALLOWING MIXTURE TO VIBRATE TO LEAN POSITION. EARLIER IN THE DAY THE PIC HAD REPLACED THE CARBURETOR.
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: 1,573 hours in all; 14 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days; 1,573 as pilot in command; 10 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 178 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 1986; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,265 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-G4 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3G3 Wadsworth OH at 8:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.