Amateur-built BD-10 accident near Gardnerville, Nevada, December 31, 1994
On December 31, 1994, a amateur-built BD-10, registered N9WZ, was destroyed in an accident near Gardnerville, Nevada. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the in-flight overload failure of the left vertical stabilizer spars, at force levels substantially below the predicted ultimate failure loads, due to inadequate substantiation by the designer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 31, 1994
- Place
- Gardnerville, Nevada
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BD-10
- Registration
- N9WZ · registry record · serial 10
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT'S TEST CARD CONCERNED EXPANSION OF THE SPEED ENVELOPE FROM 370 TO 380 KIAS. ON AN EARLIER TEST FLIGHT AT 350 KIAS, THE SIDE LOAD FORCES ON THE VERTICAL STABILIZERS REACHED A COMPANY IMPOSED LIMIT OF 40 PERCENT OF THE ULTIMATE FAILURE LOAD DETERMINED BY THE DESIGNER. DURING THE RUN BETWEEN 375 AND 380 KNOTS, THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED VIOLENTLY NOSE UP FOLLOWED BY A GENERAL BREAKUP. THE COMPANY SAID THE ORIGINAL BEDE BUILT BD-10 PROTOTYPE SUSTAINED A VERTICAL STABILIZER FAILURE DURING FLIGHTS AT THE 1994 RENO AIR RACES. BEDE SUBSEQUENTLY DESIGNED A FIX WHICH STRENGTHENED THE VERTICAL TAILS. GROUND SUBSTANTIATION LOAD TESTS TO FAILURE WERE CONDUCTED BY BEDE, AND THE RESULTING YIELD FAILURE LOAD LIMIT WAS PROVIDED TO THE COMPANY, WHICH USED THE NUMBERS TO ESTABLISH THE 40 PERCENT FLIGHT TEST LIMIT. THE NEW FIX WAS INCORPORATED INTO THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT. WRECKAGE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE AIRPLANE'S VERTICAL TAILS SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL OVERLOADS AND SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT. THE INTACT LEFT VERTICAL TAIL ASSEMBLY WAS FOUND EARLY IN THE WRECKAGE PATH AND EXHIBITED A CLEAN, ALMOST INSTANTANEOUS FAILURE LOAD WITH RIGHT BENDING AT THE SPAR TO FUSELAGE ATTACH POINTS. A PRODUCTION CONFIGURATION LEFT SIDE EMPENNAGE WAS BUILT, PUT IN A TEST FIXTURE, AND THE VERTICAL TAIL LOADED TO FAILURE. THE FAILURE MODE AND SEPARATION POINT WAS THE SAME AS THAT SEEN ON THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT LEFT VERTICAL TAIL ASSEMBLY. THE VERTICAL STABILIZER SPARS BEGAN TO YIELD AT 40 PERCENT OF THE FAILURE LOAD LIMIT SUPPLIED BY BEDE. SPAR FAILURE OCCURRED AT 65 PERCENT.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,433 hours in all; 63 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 11,433 as pilot in command; 1,100 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 1, 1994; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge J85-J4 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Peregrine Flight International
The flight
- Departed from: MEV Minden NV at 11:35 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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 N9WZ 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.