Amateur-built XA-430 accident near Lk Buena Vista, Florida, August 1, 1987
On August 1, 1987 at about 5:14 pm local time, a amateur-built XA-430 (ultralight), registered N910DW, was destroyed in an accident near Lk Buena Vista, Florida. 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 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
- August 1, 1987 · about 5:14 pm local time
- Place
- Lk Buena Vista, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built XA-430
- Registration
- N910DW · no longer on the register · serial B000A226447
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE THE ACFT WAS FLYING AT AN EST 800 TO 1000 FT. PERSONS ON THE GRND HEARD A BANG, THEN LOOKED UP AND SAW THE ACFT IN A SPIN TO THE RT WITH THE RT WING FOLDED BACK OVER THE FUSELAGE. THE ACFT HIT THE GRND IN A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE. TWO WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT DOING LOOPS JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE ACFT IS PROHIBITED FROM DOING AEROBATICS. THE PLT HAD BEEN WARNED BY ANOTHER AEROBATIC PLT NOT TO PERFORM AEROBATICS ON ANOTHER OCCASION. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THAT THE RT WING ATTACH SHACKLE HAD FAILED IN OVERLOAD.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 689 hours in all; 214 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 273 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 16, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 447 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Walt Disney World CO.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:47 pm from MCO, 14 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.