Amateur-built DSA-M3 accident near Rush City, Minnesota, September 21, 1983
On September 21, 1983 at about 6:00 pm local time, a amateur-built DSA-M3, registered N2441Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rush City, Minnesota (Rush City Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- September 21, 1983 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Rush City, Minnesota · Rush City Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DSA-M3
- Registration
- N2441Q · no longer on the register · serial 1003
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS PERFORMING A HIGH SPEED TAXI TEST ON RWY 33 WHEN THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE. AFTER LIFT-OFF, IT CLIMBED TO AN ALT OF APRX 50 FT & WENT INTO A LEFT TURN. IT CONTINUED IN A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE UNTIL IT TURNED ABOUT 180 DEG THEN CRASHED. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE WIND WAS BLOWING FROM NORTH TO WEST AT 5 TO 25 KNOTS & WAS VERY GUSTY. HE BELIEVED THE ACFT ENCOUNTER A GUST OF WIND WHICH CAUSED THE ACFT TO BECOME AIRBORNE. HE STATED THAT THE PLT THEN APPLIEDFULL POWER IN AN ATTEMPT TO GAIN CONTROL, BUT WAS UNABLE TO LOWER THE NOSE SUFFICIENTLY TO GAIN FLYING SPEED. ALSO, HE SAID THE ACFT IMPACTED WITH THE LEFT WING & NOSE SLIGHTLY LOW. ANOTHER WITNESS STATED THAT AFTER BECOMING AIRBORNE, THE ACFT SEEMED TO HANG ON THE PROP IN A STALLED CONDITION. AN EXAM OF THE FLT CONTROLS WAS MADE & THE RIGHT RUDDER CABLE WAS FOUND OFF OF THE RIGHT AFT PULLEY. ALSO, THE CONTROL STICK WOULD MOVE FORWARD OF THE NEUTRAL POSITION WHEN THE ELEVATORS WERE POSITIONED TO NEUTRAL.
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: 169 hours in all; 129 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 30, 1978; 0 hours since
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A-65-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 3,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 18 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from MSP, 30 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.