Amateur-built SKYBOLT accident near Bessemer, Alabama, October 15, 1989
On October 15, 1989 at about 9:02 pm local time, a amateur-built SKYBOLT, registered N211RB, was destroyed in an accident near Bessemer, Alabama. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 IMPROPER USE OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND DURING AN AEROBATIC MANEUVER. WHILE ATTEMPTING A SNAP ROLL, THE PILOT FAILED TO INTRODUCE SUFFICIENT ELEVATOR INPUT TO COMPLETE THE MANEUVER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 1989 · about 9:02 pm local time
- Place
- Bessemer, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SKYBOLT
- Registration
- N211RB · registry record · serial 06019
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS PERFORMING IN AN AIRSHOW. HE STATED TO THE FAA INSPECTOR THAT A SNAP ROLL WAS ATTEMPTED. HOWEVER, HE DID NOT APPLY SUFFICIENT ELEVATOR PITCH UP AND THE AIRPLANE STALLED, THEN SCOOPED OUT. AT THAT POINT HE WAS TOO LOW TO RECOVER AND DESCENDED TO IMPACT WITH THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED INTO DENSE WOODS ABOUT 1/4 MILE FROM THE RUNWAY EDGE.
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: 1,098 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 97 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 810 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 270 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 19, 1989; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,815 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2A3 Bessemer AL at 8:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 pm from BHM, 10 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.