Johnson BUSHROD accident near Corona, California, December 9, 1997
On December 9, 1997 at about 7:06 pm local time, a Johnson BUSHROD, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N6232F, was destroyed in an accident near Corona, California (Corona Municipal 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
An in-flight loss of control resulting from a malfunction in the wing flap operating system. The malfunction produced asymmetrical drag and induced a roll which could not be overcome by the pilot's flight control inputs.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 1997 · about 7:06 pm local time
- Place
- Corona, California · Corona Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Johnson BUSHROD, amateur-built
- Registration
- N6232F · no longer on the register · serial 1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot took off in the experimental, homebuilt airplane, for a planned series of approaches to explore the airplane's operating envelope. The first approach was performed without use of the wing flaps, and no anomalies were reported. During the next approach, the pilot fully extended the flaps. The airplane entered a left turn which, according to the pilot, could not be stopped. The pilot lost control of the airplane, it descended and collided with two unoccupied airplanes. The accident occurred during the 7th hour of the flight test program. There were no reported mechanical problems.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,500 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 6,000 as pilot in command; 1,200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 19, 1997; 7 hours since
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jabiru 2200/22A147 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AJO at 6:45 pm
- Destination: AJO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,200 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 36°F (2°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.
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.