Amateur-built STARDUSTER I accident near Ottawa, Kansas, September 3, 1995
On September 3, 1995 at about 3:30 pm local time, a amateur-built STARDUSTER I, registered N46565, was destroyed in an accident near Ottawa, Kansas (Ottawa Municipal 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 pilot's delayed remedial action during the inverted spin maneuver. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's lack of recent experience in the type operation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1995 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ottawa, Kansas · Ottawa Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built STARDUSTER I STARDUSTER
- Registration
- N46565 · no longer on the register · serial 22139
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Witnesses reported that the pilot performed a hammerhead stall and entered an inverted spin. Two witnesses said the inverted spin was flat. Witnesses said the engine power increased and decreased during the first five turns of the spin. Two other witnesses said the power was at a high setting and reduced after the fifth turn. They said the airplane spun two more times before colliding with the ground. One witness said he called the pilot on a radio and told him to reduce power. He said the pilot was practicing hammerhead stalls as he was having trouble performing them. The pilot had not flown the airplane in the last four months.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,165 hours in all; 21 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 1,087 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming OVO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OWI KS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 pm from OJC, 25 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.