Amateur-built Starduster Too accident near Ellicott, Colorado, June 28, 2003
On June 28, 2003 at about 5:40 pm local time, a amateur-built Starduster Too, registered N80T, was destroyed in an accident near Ellicott, Colorado (Colo Springs East 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 pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision to perform aerobatics at low altitude and the failed welds at the elevator horn and torque tube. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot performing aerobatics at low altitude, his inability to maintain aircraft control after the elevator attachment failed, the poor welds at the elevator horn and torque tube, the builder's poor installation of the elevator, and inadequate conditional inspections that failed to reveal the problem with the welds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 28, 2003 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- Ellicott, Colorado · Colo Springs East Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Starduster Too
- Registration
- N80T · no longer on the register · serial M3
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The purpose of the flight was to ferry the airplane from one airport to another. The airplane's owner told the pilot not to do anything fancy. Witnesses said the airplane took off, circled the pattern, and made a low pass over the runway at approximately 200 feet agl. About midway down the runway, the airplane make a slow roll to the right. Approximately two-thirds of the way through the roll, the airplane flew into the ground at a steep angle, destroying the airplane on impact. An examination of the airplane's elevator horn and interconnect torque tube showed that the elevator horn attachment was composed of two "c" section channels that were welded to the tube. Very little of the forward portions of the "c" sections were directly welded to the tube. The fractures observed in those areas were through the weld bead slightly away from the "c" sections. The aft portion of the right "c" section was broken. The weld in this area was intact. On the aft portion of the left "c" section, the weld was fractured along areas of incomplete fusion. The fractures observed were consistent with the application of air load forces pushing aft on the lower end of the elevator horn. No other preimpact anomalies were found. The airplane's owner said he recently purchased the airplane. He said when he purchased it, the previous owner had just performed a conditional inspection of the airplane. The current owner said he did not pull the inspection panels at the elevator prior to purchasing the airplane. He said he didn't think there would be any problems with the airplane.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 0 in this make and model; 65 in the last 90 days; 10,800 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 30, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 823.1 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, February 1, 2003; 116.7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,704 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Franklin 6A-335-B1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: A50 Ellicott CO at 5:35 pm
- Destination: 00V Falcon CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 4,550 ft by 52 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 11 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 5:54 pm from COS, 18 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.