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BFO84FU003

1984-08-14 · SOUTH BOSTON, Virginia, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport W78

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PLT ARRIVED AT THE ARPT ABOUT 1530 FOR A DEMO FLT & POSSIBLE PURCHASE OF A PHANTOM ULTRALIGHT. THE FBO HAD THE PLT FLY A C-152 FROM THE RIGHT SEAT TO FAMILIARIZE THE PLT TO FLY WITH THE CONTROL STICK ON THE RIGHT & THE THROTTLE ON THE LEFT SINCE THIS IS THE WAY THE PHANTOM IS CONFIGURED. FOUR TAKEOFFS & LANDINGS WERE PERFORMED DURING THE 30 MIN FLT. THE PLT THEN TOOK OFF IN THE PHANTOM & FLEW 10-15 MIN IN THE LOCAL AREA BEFORE RE-ENTERING THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. ON SHORT FINAL, 20-50 FT AGL, THE ULTRALIGHT WAS OBSERVED TO PORPOISE SLIGHTLY A FEW TIMES. IT THEN DOVE NOSE DOWN AT A 30-45 DEG ANGLE ONTO THE GRASS RWY. THE PLT LATER STATED HE WAS EXECUTING A GO-AROUND & HIS NATURAL REFLEX ACTION WAS TOADVANCE THE THROTTLE WITH HIS RIGHT HAND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1984_BFO84FU003.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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