Amateur-built DRAGONFLY accident near Erie, Colorado, October 26, 1982
On October 26, 1982 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built DRAGONFLY, registered N21SH, was destroyed in an accident near Erie, Colorado (Tri-County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 26, 1982 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Erie, Colorado · Tri-County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DRAGONFLY
- Registration
- N21SH · registry record · serial 128
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS ON A FLIGHT TO ACCUMULATE FLIGHT TIME ON A HOME BUILT AIRCRAFT. A MAYDAY CALL WAS RECEIVED ON THE UNICOM. SEVERAL WITNESSES INDICATED THAT THE PILOT WAS TRYING TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY WHEN THE PLANE ENTERED A LEFT BANK. AND SUDDENLY CRASHED. SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE PLANE STALLED AND/OR SPUN INTO THE GROUND. NONE OF THE WITNESSES REPORTED HEARING THE ENGINE. SHORTLY AFTER THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED, IT BEGAN BURING AND MOST OF IT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE NOT DESTROYED REVEALED NO PREIMPACT FAILURES.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 130 hours in all; 20 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,075 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen 1835CC (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 48V Erie CO at 5:10 pm
- Destination: 48V Erie CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 5,280 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 122°F (50°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN83FTE01.