Amateur-built 75 accident near No.Andover, Massachusetts, November 22, 1986
On November 22, 1986 at about 5:35 pm local time, a amateur-built 75, registered N769WM, was substantially damaged in an accident near No.Andover, Massachusetts (Lawrence Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was 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
- November 22, 1986 · about 5:35 pm local time
- Place
- No.Andover, Massachusetts · Lawrence Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built 75
- Registration
- N769WM · registry record · serial 75-5129
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THREE BANNERS WERE LAID OUT FOR PICKUP BY TWO STEARMAN AIRCRAFT. ONE BANNER WAS AN EXTRA. THE TWO STEARMANS APPROACHED THE BANNER PICK UP POINT AS A FLIGHT OF TWO. AS THE FIRST AIRCRAFT MADE ITS PICKUP AN EXTRA BANNER BECAME TANGLED WITH THE DESIGNATED PICKUP BANNER AND TWO BANNERS WERE CARRIED INTO THE AIR. AS THE SECOND AIRCRAFT APPROACHED THE PICKUP POINT THE EXTRA BANNER FELL FREE, HOWEVER THE SECOND PILOT DID NOT SEE THE FREE FALLING BANNER DUE TO REDUCED FORWARD VISIBILITY CAUSED BY THE UPPER WING. AS THE SECOND AIRCRAFT MADE HER PICKUP AND STARTED HER INTIAL CLIMB, THE FREE FALLING BANNER MADE CONTACT WITH BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER LEFT WING. THE PILOT STATED THE LEFT WING STALLED AND THE AIRCRAFT STALLED ON TO THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE UPPER WING FUEL TANK RUPTURED AND WAS LEAKING. THERE WAS NO FIRE. THE PILOT RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,111 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,220 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, March 19, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 2,717 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 3,901 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:40 pm from LWM, 1 miles away
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.