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DEN90LA123

1990-06-04 · DOUGLAS, Wyoming, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DGW

Current FAA registration · N4720A

Make / Model
PIPER PA-18-150
Year of manufacture
1956 · 34 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19560410
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A5CAE1

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE ACCIDENT TO BE IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF AILERON CONTROL SYSTEM BY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, AND FAILURE TO PERFORM AN AIRCRAFT PREFLIGHT BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN COMPLETELY RECOVERED WITH NEW FABRIC AND THE PILOT WAS GOING TO FERRY IT BACK TO HIS RANCH. WITNESSES SAID THE PILOT DID NOT PERFORM A PREFLIGHT CHECK. THE AIRPLANE TOOK OFF, CLIMBED TO AN ALTITUDE OF 15 TO 30 FEET, THEN BANKED STEEPLY TO THE RIGHT AND CRASHED. EXAMINATION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM DISCLOSED THE AILERON CONTROL CABLES HAD BEEN INADVERTENTLY CROSSED DURING REASSEMBLY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_DEN90LA123.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, maintenance). All research papers