Amateur-built STARDUSTER TOO SA300 accident near Eaton Rapids, Michigan, October 13, 1996
On October 13, 1996 at about 6:59 pm local time, a amateur-built STARDUSTER TOO SA300, registered N7691, was destroyed in an accident near Eaton Rapids, Michigan. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and subsequent inadvertent stall of the airplane. A factor was the ostentatious display.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 13, 1996 · about 6:59 pm local time
- Place
- Eaton Rapids, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built STARDUSTER TOO SA300 STARDUSTER
- Registration
- N7691 · no longer on the register · serial 370
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A private pilot, who was a witness to the accident, reported that he observed the airplane depart. 'After breaking ground contact, the airplane leveled off, gained airspeed, and then near the end of the runway, the pilot pulled up sharply into a steep climb. After a couple of hundred of feet of climb [the airplane] entered a steep right turn of approximately 45 degrees. The aircraft lost control and fell to the ground and crashed.' The witness reported that he did not hear any 'unusual' sound, and he believed the engine was at full power. A second witness reported that he noticed an airplane 'going 90 degrees straight up and straight down.' One propeller blade was bent near the root in the aft direction and exhibited minor torsional bending. The other blade exhibited minor 's' shaped bending.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,630 hours in all; 145 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 720 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 1996
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 60G at 7:59 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:58 pm from TEW, 7 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.