Amateur-built TIERRA 2 accident near Dixon, Iowa, August 12, 1986
On August 12, 1986, a amateur-built TIERRA 2, registered N5575Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dixon, Iowa. It was a personal flight under ultralight rules (Part 103). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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 12, 1986
- Place
- Dixon, Iowa · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built TIERRA 2
- Registration
- N5575Y · no longer on the register · serial 3440199
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · ultralight rules (Part 103)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE EXPERIMENTAL ACFT WAS LOADED NEAR MAX GROSS WT ON TAKEOFF FROM THE PVT SOD AIRATRIP. THE PLT STATED THE ACFT PERFORMED SLUGGISHLY DURING THE CLIMBOUT FROM THE FIELD. THE PLT STATED THAT ON THE CLIMBOUT THAT HE WAS OVERFLYING A CORN FIELD BORDERING THE STRIP WHEN THE ACFT DESCENDED TOWARD THE CORN DESPITE FULL PWR FROM THE ENG. THE PLT STATED HE INTENTIONALLY STALLED THE ACFT JUST ABOVE THE CORN AND IMPACTED THE GROUND BENEATH THE CORN WHERE IT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PLT STATED HE FELT THAT THE AIR WAS LESS DENSE AS HE OVERFLEW THE CORN AND THIS ROBBED THE ENG OF PWR AND THE WINGS OF SOME LIFT. THE DENSITY ALTITUDE MEASUREMENT WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE THAT OF FIELD ELEVATION OF 750 FEET.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 328 hours in all; 14 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 185 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 68 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 23, 1986; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from CID, 48 miles away
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.