Amateur-built DRAGONFLY accident near Chino, California, September 15, 1987
On September 15, 1987 at about 1:44 am local time, a amateur-built DRAGONFLY, registered N157JG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chino, California (Ohio airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 15, 1987 · about 1:44 am local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Chino, California · Ohio · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DRAGONFLY
- Registration
- N157JG · registry record · serial 0057
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT THE END OF A PERFORMANCE TEST FLIGHT, THE PLT STATED THAT THE ACFT WAS ROTATED TO A LANDING ATTITUDE AT A HIGHER THEN NORMAL ALTITUDE ABOVE THE GROUND. THE ACFT CONTACTED THE RWY AND BOUNCED THREE TIMES, RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE.
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: 1,650 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 1,580 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 640 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen D-60 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 3, 6,222 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 am from ONT, 5 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N157JG on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Volkswagen D-60 · as the NTSB recorded it
- Chino Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,096 in the last ten years
- California 28,158 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX87DUG09.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.