Amateur-built BABY GREAT LAKES accident near Clermont, Florida, July 2, 1989
On July 2, 1989 at about 3:55 pm local time, a amateur-built BABY GREAT LAKES, registered N2039, was destroyed in an accident near Clermont, Florida (Seminole Lake Glider Port airport). It was a personal flight 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
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT STALL/SPIN. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS THE PILOT'S LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN THE AIRCRAFT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 1989 · about 3:55 pm local time
- Place
- Clermont, Florida · Seminole Lake Glider Port
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BABY GREAT LAKES BABY GREAT
- Registration
- N2039 · no longer on the register · serial 1945TRW
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO FLY OVER THE ARPT FROM NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST & ENTER A DESCENDING RGT TURN (DOWNWIND) TO A BASE & FINAL APCH. WHILE FLYING AT SLOW SPEED ON FINAL APCH, THE ENG WAS HEARD TO HESITATE, THEN INCREASE IN POWER. THE ACFT'S RIGHT WING THEN DROPPED & THE PLANE ENTERED A SPIN TO THE RIGHT, FROM WHICH IT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 246 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 144 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 209 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 27, 1989; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-85-12 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: X61 Zellwood FL at 3:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,000 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:51 pm from MCO, 28 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.