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Atlas / NTSB / NYC89LA161

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event NYC89LA161

1989-07-12 DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania, United States Airport · N88 Serious 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N10659

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

QUICKSILVER QUICKSILVER MXL II

Year of manufacture

1985 · 4 years old at event

Engine

ROTAX 503 SERIES (52 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20160623

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A01E27

Registrant of record

BOSS DANIEL R

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER PREFLIGHT PREPARATION BY THE PILOT BY TAKING OFF WITH THE FLAPS EXTENDED, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADEQUATE RATE OF CLIMB TO CLEAR OBSTRUCTIONS BEYOND THE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND THE PILOT'S DELAY IN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF AND HIS FAILURE IN MAINTAINING AIRSPEED, WHICH REDUCED HIS ABILITY TO FLARE THE AIRCRAFT. THE HIGH OBSTRUCTIONS (TREES) NEAR THE END OF THE RUNWAY WERE CONSIDERED TO BE A FACTOR.

Factual narrative

THE PLT RPRTD THAT DRG TAKEOFF, THE ACFT REACHED AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 50 TO 75 FT, WHEN HE NOTICED THE AIRSPEED WAS SLOWLY DROPPING. HE DID NOT BELIEVE THE ACFT WOULD CLEAR TREES BEYOND THE END OF THE RWY, SO HE ELECTED TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN, NOSEWHEEL FIRST, BETWEEN THE END OF THE RWY & THE TREES, THEN IT NOSED OVER. RPRTDLY, THE FLAPS WERE IN A FULL DOWN POSITION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_NYC89LA161.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.