Amateur-built SUNBURST accident near Carthage, Missouri, August 23, 1983
On August 23, 1983, a amateur-built SUNBURST (ultralight), registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Carthage, Missouri. It was a personal flight under ultralight rules (Part 103). 1 person was killed. 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
- August 23, 1983
- Place
- Carthage, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SUNBURST
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · ultralight rules (Part 103)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER MAKING SEVERAL TAKEOFFS & LANDINGS, THE PLT CIRCLED THE ARPT, THEN DEPARTED IN A NORTHERLY DIRECTION. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS FLYING TOWARD A STORM THAT WAS APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH. HE ESTIMATED THE ULTRALIGHT WAS AT APRX 300 FT AGL WHEN IT TURNED ABOUT 30 DEG LEFT, THEN THE RIGHT WING FOLDED. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE VEHICLE IMPACTED IN AN INVERTED ATTITUDE. WITNESSES THAT WERE NEARBY AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT STATED THAT THE WINDS WERE FROM THE SOUTHWEST, JUST PRIOR TO THE OCCURRENCE, THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THE WINDS SHIFTED TO THE NORTHEAST & WERE VERY STRONG, REPORTEDLY GUSTING TO 40 KTS. STRONG STORM CELLS WITH TOPS TO 50,000 FT WERE REPORTED WITHIN 22 MI. SEVERAL FLYING & LANDING WIRES WERE FOUND BROKEN.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 88 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 80 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 400 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cuyuna 430R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: H20 Carthage MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 30 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 7,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.