ATL90LA121

1990-05-26 · PINEORA, Georgia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport NONE

Aircraft involved

N3261H Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) ERCOUPE 415-C Minor

Probable cause & findings

CONTROL INTERFERENCE BY THE PASSENGER WHEN THE THROTTLE WAS RETARDED AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO INTERVENE BECAUSE OF HIS DIVERTED ATTENTION.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER TAKE OFF, AT ABOUT 50 FEET, THE PASSENGER INADVERTENTLY RETARDED THE THROTTLE. HE ALSO STATED THAT HE WAS TAKING PICTURES WITH A CAMCORDER. WHILE THE PILOT'S ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED THE AIRPLANE LOST AIRSPEED, DESCENDED, AND COLLIDED WITH TREES AND UNDERBRUSH AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL90LA121.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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