Amateur-built FLY BABY accident near Mount Olive, North Carolina, May 22, 1999
On May 22, 1999 at about 5:05 pm local time, a amateur-built FLY BABY, registered N96MG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mount Olive, North Carolina. 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
A fatigue failure of the flywire bracket that resulted in the inflight separation of the left wing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 22, 1999 · about 5:05 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Olive, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built FLY BABY
- Registration
- N96MG · registry record · serial 2-89
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot recalled that as the airplane descended through 1700 feet, the left wing assembly came up over the cockpit and separated from the airframe. The pilot reported that he always flew this airplane wearing a parachute, and as the airplane entered a spin he was ejected from the cockpit. After clearing the airframe, the pilot pulled the ripcord to deploy the parachute; a full parachute canopy was achieved 300 feet above the ground. During the examination of the airframe the left wing flying wire attachment plate was located and was discovered to have failed. The attachment plate fracture faces were examined with an optical microscope and were found to contain banding, typical of fatigue cracking, on both sides of the attachment hole. The fatigue cracking propagated nearly through the thickness of the plate. Elevated oxygen peaks, indicative of corrosion deposits, were also discovered.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,100 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 2,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 216 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 2, 1998; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,925 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A65 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PGV Greenville NC at 2:00 pm
- Destination: LBT Lumberton NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Observation at 2:55 pm from GSB, 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL99LA092.