Amateur-built DHC-1 accident near Hammond, Wisconsin, August 19, 1995
On August 19, 1995 at about 10:53 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-1, registered N320WM, was destroyed in an accident near Hammond, Wisconsin. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an overload failure of the right horizontal support tube assembly which the pilot/owner had modified to be adjustable. A factor in the accident was the corn.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 1995 · about 10:53 pm local time
- Place
- Hammond, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-1
- Registration
- N320WM · no longer on the register · serial E4801/485
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT REPORTED HE HAD BEEN DOING AEROBATIC MANEUVERS FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES. HE STARTED DECENDING FROM 4,000 FEET, AND AFTER LEVELING OFF AT ABOUT 1,000 FEET AGL THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO VIBRATE OR SHAKE VIOLENTLY. HE REPORTED PULLING THE POWER BACK TO IDLE THINKING HE MAY HAVE LOST A PROPELLER BLADE, AND TO SLOW THE AIRCRAFT DOWN. HE LANDED IN A CORN FIELD AND THE AIRCRAFT NOSED OVER. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE PROPELLER HAD SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE UPON GROUND CONTACT, AND THAT ALL THREE BLADES WERE STILL ATTACHED TO THE PROP HUB. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE THOUGHT THE AIRCRAFT MAY HAVE HAD A STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF SOME SORT. EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT AND RIGHT STABILIZER SUPPORT TUBE ASSEMBLIES REVEALED NO INDICATIONS OF PREEXISTING CRACKING. THE DEFORMATION PATTERNS ON THE RIGHT TUBE INDICATED OVERSTRESSING LOADS. THE PILOT/OWNER HAD THE TUBES MODIFIED TO MAKE THEM ADJUSTABLE.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,483 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 229 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 14,192 as pilot in command; 3,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,580 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 8, 1994; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Baldwin WI at 10:35 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from EAU, 43 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.