Air Creation Clipper accident near Green Valley, Arizona, January 19, 2008
On January 19, 2008 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Air Creation Clipper, registered N614LF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Green Valley, Arizona. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight loss of control and an uncontrolled descent into terrain for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 2008 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Green Valley, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Creation Clipper · all Clippers on the register
- Registration
- N614LF · registry record · serial 1998FR
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and his new student pilot departed in the student's experimental weight-shift-control aircraft (trike) for a local area instructional flight on a day with calm winds. No witnesses reported observing the trike after it took off, and the trike's route of flight was not determined. The trike impacted the desert in a nose-down attitude, without disturbing surrounding vegetation. The preimpact integrity of the trike's flight control system was confirmed, with no evidence of incorrect assembly. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction was found with the engine or propeller assembly. No evidence of ethanol or drugs was found in either pilot. Autopsies revealed that both pilots sustained injuries consistent with a rapid-deceleration-type impact. The reason for the trike's departure from controlled flight and uncontrolled descent was not determined.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during unknown defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, private
- Ratings: instructor: sport pilot; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 202 hours in all; 15 in the last 90 days; 152 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 7, 2007
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
Dual student
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,936 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, November 28, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 883 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 14AZ Green Valley AZ at 4:00 pm
- Destination: 14AZ Green Valley AZ
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from TUS, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
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.