Yakovlev YAK-52 accident near Caruthersville, Missouri, November 29, 1994
On November 29, 1994 at about 9:53 pm local time, a Yakovlev YAK-52, registered N2215C, was destroyed in an accident near Caruthersville, Missouri (Caruthersville Memorial airport). It was a personal flight 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 insufficient altitude (300 feet above the airport) at which an aerobatic maneuver was attempted by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 29, 1994 · about 9:53 pm local time
- Place
- Caruthersville, Missouri · Caruthersville Memorial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Yakovlev YAK-52 · all YAK-52s on the register
- Registration
- N2215C · registry record · serial 888413
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT OVERFLEW THE AIRPORT AND PERFORMED A ROLL AT 1000 FEET. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED ROLLING INVERTED A SECOND TIME AT 300 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE NOSE THEN DROPPED TO NEAR VERTICAL, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED, AND WAS DESTROYED IN THE POST CRASH FIRE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 680 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 12, 1994; 5 hours since
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Vendeneyev M-14P (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: West Memphis AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,805 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 9:53 pm
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.