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ATL82DA046

1982-02-05 · LUVERNE, Alabama, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 04A

N123WL has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ARION AIRCRAFT LLC LIGHTNING, built 2008), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY QUIT DURING TAKEOFF AFTER THE PILOT REDUCED POWER AND STARTED A CROSSWIND TURN. THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED REARWARD DURING LANDING ROLL IN A SOFT TERRACED PASTURE AND THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED TO AN INVERTED POSITION. TWO OUNCES OF WATER WERE FOUND IN THE FUEL TANK USED DURING TAKEOFF EVEN THOUGH FUEL CONTINUED TO DRAIN FROM THE TANK 24 HOURS BEFORE THE WINGS WERE REMOVED FOR EXAMINATION. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTEDLY PARKED OUTDOORS DURING HEAVY RAINFALL THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. A MECHANIC WHO WITNESSED THE DEPARTURE STATED THE PILOT DID NOT CONDUCT AN ENGINE RUN-UP. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1982_ATL82DA046.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.