Classic Aircraft Corp. YMF-5 incident near Marathon, Florida, October 31, 1989
On October 31, 1989 at about 9:30 am local time, a Classic Aircraft Corp. YMF-5, registered N89B, suffered minor damage in an incident near Marathon, Florida (Marathon airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S INCORRECT ELEVATOR CONTROL WHILE TAXIING WITH A QUARTERING TAILWIND. CONTRIBUTING TO THE INCIDENT WAS THE TAILWIND CONDITION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 31, 1989 · about 9:30 am local time
- Place
- Marathon, Florida · Marathon · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Classic Aircraft Corp. YMF-5
- Registration
- N89B · registry record · serial YMF5-006
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE TAXIING AT A BRISK WALK WITH A QUARTERING RIGHT TAILWIND, THE TAIL RAISED. THE PILOT APPLIED POWER AND AFT ELEVATOR, THEN THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,100 hours in all; 78 in this make and model; 2,800 as pilot in command; 1,700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jacobs R-755-B2 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Marathon Aviation
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N89B the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 MIA90IA020.