Eagle Aircraft Co. DW-1 accident near Baroda, Michigan, May 23, 1986
On May 23, 1986 at about 4:50 pm local time, a Eagle Aircraft Co. DW-1, registered N8807Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Baroda, Michigan. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- May 23, 1986 · about 4:50 pm local time
- Place
- Baroda, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eagle Aircraft Co. DW-1
- Registration
- N8807Z · registry record · serial DW-1 0049-81
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT SHUT DOWN THE ACFT ENGINE AFTER NOTICING OIL ON THE CANOPY AND A LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE. A FORCED LANDING WAS PERFORMED IN A CORN FIELD AND THE ACFT NOSED OVER. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION DISCLOSED THE OIL PRESSURE HOSE HAD RUPTURED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,770 hours in all; 90 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 3,612 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 530 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 1986; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-M1B5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0D1 South Haven MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N8807Z 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.