Amateur-built STAR-LITE accident near Raymond, Mississippi, October 5, 1986
On October 5, 1986 at about 5:15 pm local time, a amateur-built STAR-LITE, registered N124PK, was destroyed in an accident near Raymond, Mississippi. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 5, 1986 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Raymond, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built STAR-LITE
- Registration
- N124PK · registry record · serial 124
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HAD JUST COMPLETED BUILDING THE ACFT AND WAS ON THE INITIAL FLT. FAMILY MEMBERS WATCHED AS THE ACFT TOOKOFF AND CLIMBED OVER THE ARPT. THEY THEN OBSERVED PIECES FALLING FROM THE ACFT. THE ACFT ROLLED INVERTED AND CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE ELEVATOR BELL CRANK REVEALED THE PLT HAD MADE AN UNAPPROVED MODIFICATION TO THE CRANK DUE TO A CONTRUCTION ERROR BY THE PLT WHICH CONSISTED OF CUTTING THE BOTTOM OFF THE CRANK AND ATTACHING 2 STRIPS OF ALUMINUM TO THE CRANK WITH POP RIVETS. THE ELEVATORS AND STABILIZERS SEPARATED FROM THE ACFT IN FLT. THE UPPER AND LOWER HALVES OF THE LEFT ELEVATOR HAD SEPARATED AND AN EXAM REVEALED THE BONDING MATERIAL WAS STILL SOFT AND SITCKY TO THE TOUCH. THE DESIGNER OF THE ACFT STATED THAT FLUTTER WAS CREATED IN THE ELEVATORS BY THE MODIFICATION RESULTING IN FAILURE OF THE TAIL COMPONENTS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 3,057 hours in all; 3,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 480 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 447 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,200 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from JAN, 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA87FA003.