Monocoupe 110SP accident near Utopia, Texas, September 15, 2007
On September 15, 2007 at about 1:10 pm local time, a Monocoupe 110SP, registered N110SP, was destroyed in an accident near Utopia, Texas. 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 loss of control while performing a low level inverted flight maneuver.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 15, 2007 · about 1:10 pm local time
- Place
- Utopia, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Monocoupe 110SP · all 110SPs on the register
- Registration
- N110SP · registry record · serial 6W13
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The high-wing single engine airplane was destroyed following a collision with terrain while performing aerobatic flight maneuvers. The airline transport—rated pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was buzzing a friend of the pilot's house. On the last pass while flying inverted the airplane's engine was observed to cough shortly before the airplane impacted the ground. The witness noted that the airplane suddenly entered a vertical, inverted dive into a bunch of oak trees. A review of the aircraft records indicated no pre-impact anomalies and that the aircraft was properly maintained.
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 engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,473 hours in all; 50 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: February 23, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,029 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 3, 2006
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Warner Scarab Series (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Utopia TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway NA
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.18 inHg
- Observation at 12:51 pm from KHDO, 23 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.