NTSB NYC90DFJ02 — 1990-04-06 · HORSEHEADS, New York, United States

N68CG has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N68CG ROBBINS BREEZY CG-1 Fatal

Probable cause & findings

THE LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL DURING HIGH SPEED TAXI FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON.

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS PERFORMING A HIGH SPEED TAXI TEST AFTER THE HOMEBUILT ACFT WAS ASSEMBLED. WITNESSES STATED THE ACFT LIFTED OFF, THEN PITCHED UP 'IN A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE . . . NOSED OVER AND STRUCK THE GROUND. . .' A POST-ACDNT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT ALL CONTROL SURFACES WERE INTACT. THE DOWN ELEVATOR CABLE WAS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED DURING THE OCCURRENCE; HOWEVER, A METALLURGICAL EXAM OF THE FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED EVIDENCE OF OVERSTRESS (OVERLOAD) FAILURE. IMPACT DAMAGE OF THE AIRFRAME OCCURRED IN THE AREA WHERE THE DOWN ELEVATOR CABLE HAD FAILED. NO REASON WAS FOUND FOR THE CABLE TO HAVE BEEN OVERLOADED, EXCEPT FOR IMPACT STRESSES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_NYC90DFJ02.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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