Amateur-built DF-9 accident near Ramona, California, August 23, 1987
On August 23, 1987 at about 9:30 pm local time, a amateur-built DF-9, registered N6524J, was destroyed in an accident near Ramona, California (Ramona airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 1987 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ramona, California · Ramona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DF-9
- Registration
- N6524J · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE THIRD TEST FLT, THE PLT WAS TO FLY THE ACFT TO 6000 FT FOR SLOW FLT AND FLUTTER TESTING AT INCREASING SPEEDS TO 200 MPH. THE PLT WAS THEN TO COMPLETE A SHALLOW DESCENT TO TOUCH-DOWN WITH AN ON FINAL, OVER-THE-FENCE SPEED NOT TO EXCEED 75 MPH. INSTEAD, UPON REACHING APRX 300 FT AGL HE DOVE THE PLANE TO APRX 50 FT AND PROCEEDED TO DO A HIGH SPEED PASS DOWN THE RWY. AT THREE QUARTERS THE WAY DOWN THE RWY A LOUD BANG WAS HEARD AND A PIECE OF THE ELEVATOR SEPARATED FROM THE ACFT. THE PLANE DOVE SLIGHTLY THEN COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 1, 1987; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,050 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L39 Romona CA at 9:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 4,000 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N6524J 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.