Amateur-built TIERRA II accident near Prairie City, Iowa, August 7, 1988
On August 7, 1988, a amateur-built TIERRA II, registered N823PF, was destroyed in an accident near Prairie City, Iowa (Farm Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. 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 7, 1988
- Place
- Prairie City, Iowa · Farm Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built TIERRA II
- Registration
- N823PF · no longer on the register · serial 823-804
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND IN A HAYFIELD AND DECIDED TO ABORT THE LANDING DUE TO ROUGH CONDITION OF FIELD. AS HE PUSHED THE THROTTLE FORWARD, THE ENGINE FALTERED AND THE PLANE TOUCHED DOWN. THE ABORTED LANDING WAS CONTINUED DUE TO SPEED AND OBSTRUCTIONS. AS HE CLEARED POWER LINES, THE PLANE BEGAN A STEEP UNCONTROLLED DESCENDING RIGHT TURN AND HIT THE GROUND. THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING AT FULL POWER AT THE TIME OF THE STALL AFTER THE SHORT HESITATION IN POWER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ABORT, ACCORDING TO THE PILOT.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 74 hours in all; 21 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 74 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 98 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1987; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 532 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OXV Knoxville IA at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.