Howard Aircraft DGA-15P accident near Deming, New Mexico, June 24, 2002
On June 24, 2002 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Howard Aircraft DGA-15P, registered N9471H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Deming, New Mexico (Deming Municipal Arpt airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 loss of aircraft directional control during the landing roll as a result of encountering a dust devil.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 24, 2002 · about 8:10 pm local time · cases in 2002
- Place
- Deming, New Mexico · Deming Municipal Arpt · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Howard Aircraft DGA-15P · all DGA-15Ps on the register
- Registration
- N9471H · no longer on the register · serial 813
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that during landing roll on runway 26 he encountered a dust devil. He said that the airplane abruptly entered an uncommanded right turn and exited the runway. The airplane impacted a large mesquite bush separating the right landing gear and breaking the right wing spars near the wing's tip.
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: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 5,412 hours in all; 64 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 5,403 as pilot in command; 892 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 30, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,931 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 2002; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,500 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FST Ft. Stockton TX at 5:52 pm
- Destination: DMN Deming NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 6,626 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 100°F (38°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from DMN
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 N9471H the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N9471H: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Howard Aircraft DGA-15 97 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Howard Aircraft 109 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-985 1,593 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Deming Municipal · nearest airport
- Fort Stockton-Pecos County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in New Mexico 1,423 since 1982 · 184 in the last ten years
- New Mexico 3,108 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N9471H 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DEN02LA059.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.