Amateur-built MONNETT MONI accident near Ramona, California, November 1, 1987
On November 1, 1987 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built MONNETT MONI (glider), registered N190PJ, was destroyed in an accident near Ramona, California (Ramona airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 1, 1987 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Ramona, California · Ramona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built MONNETT MONI MONNETT MO
- Registration
- N190PJ · no longer on the register · serial 190
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACQUAINTANCES OF THE PLT RPRTD HE HAD PERFORMED MAINTENANCE TO REPAIR AN INOPERATIVE AIRSPEED INDICATOR. HE THEN TOOK OFF ON A TEST FLT. A WITNESS, WHO WAS A PLT, RPRTD THE ENG STARTED TO 'CUT OUT' AT ABOUT 200 TO 300 FT AGL, THE TAIL 'WAGGLED A COUPLE OF TIMES' & THEN THE ACFT ENTERED A SPIN & CRASHED IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. TWO OTHER WITNESSES RPRTD THERE WAS AN INTERRUPTION OF POWER BEFORE THE ACFT CRASHED. HOWEVER, THE ENG & FORWARD PART OF THE FUSELAGE WERE BADLY DAMAGED & NO REASON WAS FOUND FOR A POWER LOSS. AN EXAM OF THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR REVEALED IT HAD RUPTURED & HAD BEEN EPOXIED, BUT THE RUPTURE CONTINUED BEYOND THE EPOXY. THE PLT HAD A STUDENT CERTIFICATE. HE HAD 332 HRS OF FLT TIME IN ULTRALIGHTS, BUT HAD LOGGED ONLY 3 HRS OF DUAL FLT TIME IN POWERED ACFT & HAD ONLY 2.3 HRS IN THIS MAKE & MODEL.
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: student
- Flight time: 344 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 326 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 110 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 22, 1987; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 560 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Kfm 107 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L39 at 6:59 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 4,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 7:00 pm from SEE, 13 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.
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.