Amateur-built KOLB FIRESTAR accident near Dallas, Georgia, April 11, 1998
On April 11, 1998 at about 8:45 pm local time, a amateur-built KOLB FIRESTAR, registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Dallas, Georgia. 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 pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed for the existing wind conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 11, 1998 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Dallas, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KOLB FIRESTAR KOLB FIRES
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register · serial 596
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While turning from base leg to final leg on approach to landing at a grass strip the aircraft encountered wind gusts. The aircraft descended and the pilot could not stop the descent prior to the aircraft colliding with trees. The homebuilt aircraft was not registered with the FAA and the pilot did not hold any FAA pilot or medical certificates.
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
- Flight time: 1,013 hours in all
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 160 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 27, 1997; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 725 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 DC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:54 pm from ATL, 30 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.
Other NTSB records under UNREG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.