Amateur-built U-2 accident near Cheyenne, Wyoming, May 31, 1986
On May 31, 1986 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built U-2, registered N3967S, was destroyed in an accident near Cheyenne, Wyoming (Cheyenne 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 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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 31, 1986 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cheyenne, Wyoming · Cheyenne · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built U-2
- Registration
- N3967S · no longer on the register · serial U-462
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THIS WAS AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT ACFT. WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING THE ACFT IN A STEEP RIGHT BANK WHEN THE ENG LOST POWER. THE ACFT WAS THEN SEEN TO STALL AND ENTER A RIGHT SPIN. WITNESSES SAID THE PLT RECOVERED BUT ENTERED A SECOND STALL AND DOVE STRAIGHT INTO GROUND. NO EVIDENCE OF AIRFRAME, ENG, PROP, OR FLT CONTROL MALFUNCTION/FAILURE WAS FOUND. ENG WAS LATER FUNCTIONALLY TESTED AND RAN NORMALLY. PLT HAD NEVER BEEN GIVEN INSTRUCTION IN STALL/SPIN RECOVERY. PLT HAD LOGGED 7 HRS IN ACFT AND WAS MAKING 5TH FLT WHEN ACCIDENT OCCURRED. DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS COMPUTED TO BE 8157 FT MSL.
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: 247 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 150 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 13, 1985; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 615 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cuyuna 440 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CYS Cheyenne WY at 7:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:19 pm from CYS, 3 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.