Amateur-built GN-2 accident near Brodhead, Wisconsin, July 25, 1985
On July 25, 1985 at about 2:20 pm local time, a amateur-built GN-2, registered N13708, was destroyed in an accident near Brodhead, Wisconsin (Brodhead airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- July 25, 1985 · about 2:20 pm local time
- Place
- Brodhead, Wisconsin · Brodhead · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GN-2
- Registration
- N13708 · no longer on the register · serial 305
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED MAKING STEEP TURNS AT ABOUT 500 FT AGL JUST PRIOR TO THE ACDNT. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE AIRSPEED WAS DECAYING DURING THESE TURNS & THE ACFT STALLED WHILE IN A STEEP BANK. REPORTEDLY, THE ACFT BEGAN SPINNING, THEN THE PLT STOPPED THE SPIN & WAS RECOVERING IN A WINGS LEVEL ATTITUDE WHEN THE PLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES. THE ENG WAS AT FULL POWER WHEN THE ACFT CONTACTED THE TREES.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,511 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 250 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 30, 1984; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Franklin 4AC-17G-BA-2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 1,520 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm from JVL, 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.
Other NTSB records under N13708 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.