Sukhoi SU-29 accident near Manassas, Virginia, May 19, 1998
On May 19, 1998 at about 2:56 pm local time, a Sukhoi SU-29, registered N292SU, was destroyed in an accident near Manassas, Virginia (Manassas Regional Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance during an aerobatic maneuver.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 1998 · about 2:56 pm local time
- Place
- Manassas, Virginia · Manassas Regional Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Sukhoi SU-29 · all SU-29s on the register
- Registration
- N292SU · no longer on the register · serial 73-02
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight was a scheduled aerobatic demonstration for an airshow. The accident flight was witnessed by several thousand spectators, and recorded on videotape. The airplane was observed entering a skidding turn at the top of a climb. After reversing direction in the turn, the airplane dived toward the ground. The airplane struck the ground before completing the pull out at the bottom. The witnesses said the airplane was 'perilously low ...[and] needed another 300 feet, minimum, on top of what he had.' A review of one videotape revealed the airplane's height above the ground prior to its final descent could not be estimated. However, the maneuvers observed were consistent with the witness accounts. Engine noise was smooth and uninterrupted until ground contact.
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: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,710 hours in all; 475 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 365 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 4, 1998
- Maximum gross weight: 2,655 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Vendeneyev M14P (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HEF at 2:49 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm from HEF
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.