Amateur-built CUMULUS accident near Hillsboro, Tennessee, February 24, 1998
On February 24, 1998 at about 6:30 pm local time, a amateur-built CUMULUS, registered N1171U, was destroyed in an accident near Hillsboro, Tennessee. 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
Debonding of the leading edge to spar cap joint, which resulted in inflight separation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 24, 1998 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hillsboro, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CUMULUS
- Registration
- N1171U · no longer on the register · serial 002
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The motorglider sustained an inflight separation of the left wing due to failure of a glue-bonded joint between the D-cell wing leading edge and the upper spar capstrip. The ballistic recovery system was fired, but the parachute's shroud lines were fouled around the propeller and shaft. The fuselage, minus both wings, impacted the terrain in a nose-down attitude.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,800 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 100 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 640 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Bombardier 447 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TN24 TN at 6:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from BNA, 66 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.