Amateur-built SPEZIO SPORT DAL-1 accident near Gravois Mills, Missouri, June 17, 1985
On June 17, 1985, a amateur-built SPEZIO SPORT DAL-1, registered N1141L, was destroyed in an accident near Gravois Mills, Missouri. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- June 17, 1985
- Place
- Gravois Mills, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SPEZIO SPORT DAL-1 SPEZIO SPO
- Registration
- N1141L · registry record · serial 85
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE ACFT MADE AT LEAST TWO COMPLETE CIRCLES OVER A COVE ON LAKE OF THE OZARKS AT LOW ALT. PART OF THE ACFT TRACK TOOK IT OVER THE SOUTHEAST SHORELINE WHERE SEVERAL LAKE HOMES ARE LOCATED. DURING THE THIRD CIRCLE, AS THE ACFT APPROACHED THE LAKE IN A RT TURN, THE RT WING DROPPED ABRUPTLY, THE ACFT DESCENDED AND HIT A COVERED BOAT DOCK. THE ACFT THEN FELL INTO THE LAKE BESIDE THE DOCK.
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: 4,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 360 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 11, 1984; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: K15 Osage Beach MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.