Amateur-built Dragonfly accident near Tucson, Arizona, July 18, 2002
On July 18, 2002 at about 4:49 pm local time, a amateur-built Dragonfly, registered N48RV, was destroyed in an accident near Tucson, Arizona (Tucson International airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's loss of control resulting from his improperly planned approach and an inadvertent encounter with wake turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 18, 2002 · about 4:49 pm local time
- Place
- Tucson, Arizona · Tucson International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Dragonfly
- Registration
- N48RV · no longer on the register · serial 161
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On short final approach between 50 and 75 feet above the ground, the pilot encountered wake turbulence from a MD80, which had just landed. During the wake turbulence encounter, the accident airplane suddenly rolled into a near vertical left bank, control was lost, and it crashed about 340 feet from the runway. While in the traffic pattern, the pilot had observed the approaching MD80. Air traffic control personnel advised the pilot that the local wind was from 060 degrees, at 7 knots, and the controller twice cautioned the pilot regarding wake turbulence. At 0947:24, the MD80 was about 1 mile from landing on a visual approach to runway 11L and it landed at 0948:29 . The accident pilot crashed at 0949:28, approaching parallel runway 11R. Tucson International Airport operations personnel reported that the impact site was about 340 feet short of the runway.
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: 100 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 100 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 3, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 938 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 13, 2002; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,250 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C85 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: T27 El Paso TX at 2:00 pm
- Destination: TUS Tucson AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 11R, 8,408 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 pm from TUS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N48RV the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.