Amateur-built Starduster Too accident near Verona, Kentucky, September 3, 2007
On September 3, 2007 at about 7:34 pm local time, a amateur-built Starduster Too, registered N5462, was destroyed in an accident near Verona, Kentucky (Ryan Field). 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 pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 2007 · about 7:34 pm local time
- Place
- Verona, Kentucky · Ryan Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Starduster Too
- Registration
- N5462 · no longer on the register · serial 1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot/owner was giving rides in the experimental amateur-built airplane and the accident flight was the third flight of the day. The witnesses remarked that during the passenger swap after the second flight, the engine sounded "rough," and was "popping" and "sputtering." and "almost stalled," before it ran smoothly again. Another witness communicated with the pilot by hand-held radio, and they both believed the sputtering was the result of a fouled spark plug. The pilot announced he would "burn it off," then "blackish/grey smoke puffed" from the exhaust during taxi. The pilot then performed a magneto check prior to takeoff, announced that the airplane "sounds good" over the radio, and began the takeoff roll. During liftoff the airplane pitched up, followed by a sharp left descending turn into trees. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,700 hours in all; 50 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 950 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, October 1, 2006; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 7KY2 Verona KY at 7:34 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 1,800 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 7:52 pm from CVG, 15 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.
Other NTSB records under N5462 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.