Adams Airborne Australia O accident near Taos, New Mexico, August 26, 2007
On August 26, 2007 at about 1:40 am local time, a Adams Airborne Australia O, registered N7068U, was destroyed in an accident near Taos, New Mexico. 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 intentional low altitude flight in a confined area and an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing factors in this accident were the blind/box canyon and the aircraft's low airspeed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 2007 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Taos, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Adams Airborne Australia O
- Registration
- N7068U · no longer on the register · serial 582-691
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Several hikers saw the airplane fly past them at low altitude and into a gorge. They videotaped the pilot waving at them. They said the airplane disappeared below the lip of the gorge, and then they heard the sound of impact. Several hikers climbed down the canyon wall and proceeded to the wreckage while others notified authorities. The accident site was approximately 300 feet above the canyon floor. Examination of the airplane revealed it was either turning or spinning at the moment of impact. Flight control continuity was established and no systems anomalies were noted. Another pilot said he noticed mountain wave-type winds in that area of the canyon, making turbulence likely. The accident pilot had flown in the canyon before, and was known to fly at low airspeeds and altitudes. The pilot had been warned by other pilots that it was not safe to fly in the canyon in a light aircraft.
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
- Flight time: 100 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 111 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 884 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582DC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Taos NM
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from SKX
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.