Amateur-built AA-5B accident near Youngstown, Florida, June 17, 1994
On June 17, 1994 at about 5:30 am local time, a amateur-built AA-5B, registered N74693, was destroyed in an accident near Youngstown, Florida. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
SPATIAL DISORIENTATION EXPERIENCED BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRCRAFT CONTROL. FACTORS WERE THE CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION (DARK NIGHT LIGHTING CONDITIONS, HIGH CLOUD COVER, THUNDERSTORMS), AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF NIGHT FLYING EXPERIENCE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 17, 1994 · about 5:30 am local time
- Place
- Youngstown, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5B
- Registration
- N74693 · no longer on the register · serial AA5B-0352
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PRIVATE, NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT WAS RETURNING HOME, VFR, AT NIGHT. HE INITIALLY RECEIVED VFR FLIGHT FOLLOWING FROM EGLIN APPROACH, AND WAS GIVEN A FREQUENCY CHANGE TO JAX CENTER. NO SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATIONS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE PILOT, ALTHOUGH JAX CENTER REPORTED THAT THE RADIO FREQUENCY THAT THE PILOT WAS GIVEN WAS NOT THE CORRECT ONE, AND TRANSMISSIONS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GOOD ON THAT FREQUENCY. RADAR DATA INDICATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS TRAVELING EAST NORTHEAST AT 2,400 FEET WHEN IT ENTERED A DESCENDING, RIGHT HAND TURN. RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AT 400 FEET, WITH THE AIRCRAFT IN A STEEP, RIGHT HAND DESCENDING TURN. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND IN AN OPEN, PLOWED FIELD. GENERAL DISINTEGRATION OF THE WRECKAGE INDICATED A HIGH ENERGY IMPACT WITH TERRAIN. NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE WAS OBSERVED DURING THE WRECKAGE EXAM. THE AREA OF THE CRASH SITE WAS REMOTE FARMLAND, WITH A MARKED ABSENCE OF GROUND LIGHTING. LOCAL AREA THUNDERSTORMS AND HIGH CLOUD COVER PRODUCED CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. THE PILOT'S TOTAL FLIGHT TIME WAS 115 HOURS (12 HOURS AT NIGHT).
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: 115 hours in all; 57 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,661 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 1994; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 81J Destin FL at 5:03 am
- Destination: 0J9 Blountstown FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 am from PAM, 18 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.