Amateur-built VP-1 accident near Tupelo, Mississippi, April 19, 1987
On April 19, 1987 at about 3:00 pm local time, a amateur-built VP-1, registered N70PJ, was destroyed in an accident near Tupelo, Mississippi (Lamb airport). It was a personal flight 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
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 19, 1987 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Tupelo, Mississippi · Lamb · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VP-1
- Registration
- N70PJ · no longer on the register · serial ES-70
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT LOST ENGINE POWER ON SHORT FINAL APPROACH. ACFT STALLED AND TOUCHED DOWN HARD SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE ACFT THEN COLLIDED WITH THE RAISED EDGE OF THE RUNWAY COLLAPSING THE MAIN GEAR AND THEN NOSING OVER. THE PILOT ATTRIBUTED THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER TO A WEAK MAGNETO COIL WHICH HE HAD BEEN ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR. THE WEAK COIL ALLOWED FOR A WEAK SPARK AT THE SPARK PLUGS WHICH ALLOWED THE PLUGS TO FOUL AND THE ENGINE NOT TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO POWER INCREASES.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 448 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 386 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 275 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 4, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen 1600 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 1,650 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 pm from TUP, 16 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.