Amateur-built B-8M accident near Lake City, Florida, October 29, 1988
On October 29, 1988 at about 5:00 pm local time, a amateur-built B-8M (gyroplane), registered N10WP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lake City, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- October 29, 1988 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lake City, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built B-8M
- Registration
- N10WP · registry record · serial 1927
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN AIRSHOW, THE PLT TOOK OFF TO PERFORM A PLANNED 8-SPIN AUTOROTATIVE LANDING FROM AN ALT OF APRX 800 FT. AN FAA INSPECTOR WHO OBSERVED THE ACCIDENT STATED THE FLT ASCENDED TO APRX 650 FT MSL. AFTER CLOSING THE THROTTLE, THE PLT BEGAN THE MANEUVER. WHILE DESCENDING THROUGH ABOUT 100 FT AGL & HAVING COMPLETED 6-SPINS, THE PLT CONTINUED THE MANEUVER. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CONTACTED THE GROUND & WAS DAMAGED. ACCORDING TO THE PLT, THE ACFT SPUN TOO LOW FOR PULL-OUT & HIT THE GROUND.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 7,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 21, 1988; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Mcculloch O-100-1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 pm from GNV, 33 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.