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FTW88DPJ12

1988-09-17 · OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HSD

N57DH has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (HALLADA DAVID M CORBEN BABY ACE), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

TOTAL FAILURE OF THE RUDDER CONTROL DUE TO FAILURE OF THE METAL WELDS ON THE CABLE ATTACHMENT TO THE RUDDER PEDAL, DUE TO IMPROPER WELDING BY THE MANUFACTURER.

Factual narrative

WITNESSES RPRTD THE PLT WAS DOING AEROBATICS NEAR THE ARPT. THEY OBSERVED TWO SNAP ROLLS, THEN SAW THE ACFT ENTER A SPIN TO THE RIGHT. THE WITNESSES SAID THE ACFT WAS MANEUVERING AT AN ESTIMATED 1,500 TO 1,900 FEET AGL, THEN IT SPUN, UNCORRECTED TO GROUND IMPACT. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT IN THE REAR COCKPIT, THE RUDDER CABLE ATTACHMENT ON THE LEFT RUDDER PEDAL HAD FAILED. A METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVEALED THE FRACTURE WAS TYPICAL OF OVERSTRESS, BUT THE WELDED AREA HAD VOIDS & THERE WAS A LACK OF FUSION & PENETRATION IN THE WELDED AREA. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_FTW88DPJ12.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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