Amateur-built CASSUTT 3M accident near Caldwell, Idaho, September 6, 1988
On September 6, 1988 at about 10:45 pm local time, a amateur-built CASSUTT 3M, registered N67Y, was destroyed in an accident near Caldwell, Idaho. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- September 6, 1988 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Caldwell, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CASSUTT 3M
- Registration
- N67Y · no longer on the register · serial 2001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON TEST FLT IN PREPARATION FOR RENO AIR RACES, PLT ENTERED POWER DIVE AT 10000 FT TO 230 KTS AND EXPERIENCED VIBRATIONS. HE REDUCED POWER AND ENTERED A STEEP NOSE HIGH CLIMB ALLOWING THE AIRCRAFT TO DECELERATE TO NEAR STALL SPEED. THE VIBRATION CONTINUED. AT THE TOP OF THE CLIMB, THE AIRCRAFT NOSED OVER TO A STEEP DESCENT AND WOULD NOT RESPOND TO ELEVATOR CONTROL INPUT. THE PLT PARACHUTED TO SAFETY. IMPACT DAMAGE PRECLUDED MEANINGFUL EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT CONTROLS. THERE WAS NO SEPARATION OF THE HORIZONTAL TAIL COMPONENTS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,400 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 9,200 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 262 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, September 1, 1988; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 870 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: U35 at 11:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N67Y 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.