Amateur-built CHRISTIAN EAGLE II accident near North Adams, Massachusetts, April 10, 1987
On April 10, 1987 at about 5:20 pm local time, a amateur-built CHRISTIAN EAGLE II, registered N11GS, was destroyed in an accident near North Adams, Massachusetts (Harriman & West airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- April 10, 1987 · about 5:20 pm local time
- Place
- North Adams, Massachusetts · Harriman & West
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CHRISTIAN EAGLE II CHRISTIAN
- Registration
- N11GS · registry record · serial 0001-SPRAGUE
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CHRISTIAN EAGLE WAS COMING IN FOR A TOUCH AND GO WHEN IT SANK INTO TREES, TURNED AROUND AND BECAME INVOLVED IN A POSTCRASH FIRE. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE PLT FATALLY INJURED. A PILOT WHO PRECEDED THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT SAID THE WINDS WERE GUSTY AND THAT THE GUSTY CONDITIONS WERE INTERMITTENT. NO PRE-EXISTING PROBLEMS WERE FOUND WITH THE AIRCRAFT.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,632 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 3,038 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 977 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 31, 1987; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,550 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-360-A1D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 4,300 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 315° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 5:20 pm from 2B6
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.
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.