Amateur-built EARLY BIRD JENNY accident near Kersey, Colorado, August 25, 1996
On August 25, 1996 at about 6:00 pm local time, a amateur-built EARLY BIRD JENNY, registered N12JN, was destroyed in an accident near Kersey, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the throttle linkage. A related factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1996 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Kersey, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EARLY BIRD JENNY EARLY BIRD
- Registration
- N12JN · no longer on the register · serial 01
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said the throttle linkage broke while the airplane was in cruise flight. Engine power dropped to idle and the pilot was forced to land in a hay field. During the forced landing, the airplane collided with bales of hay and a pivot sprinkler.
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; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,540 hours in all; 60 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Unknown UNK/NA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7CO4 New Raymer CO at 5:30 pm
- Destination: 48V Erie CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 75 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:54 pm from GXY, 15 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.