Airship Industries AIRSHIP 600 accident near Creswell, North Carolina, April 15, 1990
On April 15, 1990 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Airship Industries AIRSHIP 600, registered N602SK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Creswell, North Carolina. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILURE OF THE ELECTRONIC IGNITION UNITS AS THE AIRSHIP TRAVERSED THE DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA BEAM OF A HIGH INTENSITY RADIATED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD (HIRF). FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE UNFAVORABLE WIND AND THE LACK OF HIRF CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR AIRSHIPS AT THE TIME OF FAA CERTIFICATION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 15, 1990 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Creswell, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airship Industries AIRSHIP 600 AIRSHIP 60
- Registration
- N602SK · no longer on the register · serial 1215/07
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE CRUISING AT 700 FT ON A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE AIRSHIP HAD A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER IN BOTH ENGINES. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRSHIP COLLIDED WITH TREES & THE TERRAIN DURING A FORCED LANDING IN 20 KT WINDS. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE AIRSHIP HAD TRAVERSED THE BEAM OF A HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL RADIO FREQUENCY BROADCAST FROM A VOICE OF AMERICA ANTENNA. THE SIGNAL RADIATING FROM THE ANTENNA HAD BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO DAMAGE ELECTRONIC IGNITION CONTROL UNITS OF THE SAME TYPE USED ON THE AIRSHIP ENGINES. SUBSEQUENT TESTS OF THE FAILED IGNITION UNITS SHOWED THAT THE FAILURE MODE IN THIS ACCIDENT REPLICATED THE FAILURES OF THE PREVIOUSLY TESTED IGNITION UNITS. AT THE TIME OF CERTIFICATION, AIRSHIP REQUIREMENTS FOR HIRF (HIGH INTNESITY RADIATED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS) TESTING HAD NOT BEEN ISSUED.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: airship
- Flight time: 2,200 hours in all; 410 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 2,050 as pilot in command; 1,300 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,348 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 12, 1990; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 15,655 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Porsche 930/67/A1/3 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Airship Industries
The flight
- Departed from: ECG Elizabeth City NC at 1:45 pm
- Destination: FLO Florence SC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.