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Atlas / NTSB / ATL83FA091

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ATL83FA091

1983-01-29 PRATTVILLE, Alabama, United States Airport · 1A9 Fatal 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE LEFT WING SEPARATED AS THE PLT BEGAN A PULL-UP AFTER A LOW PASS. THE SEPARATION POINT WAS IN THE WING ROOT WHERE THEMAIN SPAR HAD BEEN SECURED TO THE FUSELAGE WITH A METAL BRACKET. A BUTT SPLICE HAD BEEN MADE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WING SPAR. THE FRACTURE AREA AT THE ROOT END OF THE MAIN WING SPAR WAS SOFT, DAMP & DISCOLORED COMPARED TO OTHER WOOD IN THE AREA. THE BUTT JOINT WAS LATER DETERMINED AS HAVING NO CAPABILITY FOR TRANSFERRING AXIAL STRESSES. THIS REPAIR WAS NOT DONE UNDER SUPERVISION OF A LICENSED MECHANIC. THE ACFT HAD OPERATED 40 HRS SINCE THE ANNUAL INSPECTION DATED 6/8/82. AD76-15-1 (INSPECTION OF THE WOOD WING) REQUIRES THAT THE WOOD WING BE INSPECTED IAW MOONEY SB M20-170A. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_ATL83FA091.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.