Amateur-built RALLY 2B ULTRALIGHT accident near Palm Bay, Florida, April 13, 1983
On April 13, 1983 at about 2:15 pm local time, a amateur-built RALLY 2B ULTRALIGHT, registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Palm Bay, Florida. It was a personal flight under ultralight rules (Part 103). 1 person was killed. 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
- April 13, 1983 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Palm Bay, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RALLY 2B ULTRALIGHT RALLY 2B U
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register · serial 1151548
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · ultralight rules (Part 103)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ROTEC RALLY 2B WAS AN UNREGISTERED ULTRALIGHT VEHICLE THAT HAD BEEN ASSEMBLED FROM A KIT. THE PLTS OF TWO OTHER ULTRALIGHT VEHICLES STATED THAT THEY WERE IN A VERY LOOSE FORMATION WITH THE ONE THAT HAD CRASHED. ACCORDING TO THEM, THEY WERE FLYING AT ABOUT 600 FT AGL WHEN THEY SAW THE RALLY 2B ENTER A LEFT TURN, THEN GO INTO A STEEP DIVE & CRASH. THEY OBSERVED THE WINGS FOLD UPWARD AFTER THE VEHICLE HAD LOST 100 TO 200 FT OF ALTITUDE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS WITHIN ITS AUTHORIZED GROSS WT LIMITATION. THE FUEL CAPACITY WAS 3.5 GAL, BUT THE PLT HAD STRAPPED A 6 GAL AUXILIARY TANK ADJACENT TO HIS SEAT. IT WAS FOUND WITH APRX 4.5 GAL REMAINING. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THAT THE NOSE WIRE UPPER KING POST TANG HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE. THE FATIGUE CRACK HAD INITIATED NEXT TO A HOLE & HAD PROGRESSED ALMOST ENTIRELY THRU THE TANG. ALSO, THE UPPER RUDDER CLEVIS HAD FAILED WHERE A CRACK FROM HIGH STRESS FATIGUE HAD PROGRESSED THRU 20% OF THE PART.
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: 9,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 460 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cuyuna 430CC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: X59V Valkaria FL at 12:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:48 pm from MLB, 9 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.
Other NTSB records under UNREG 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.