Mattison Starduster Too accident near Ellicott, CO
On June 28, 2003, a Mattison Starduster Too (airplane) was involved in an accident near Ellicott, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 28, 2003
- Place
- Ellicott, CO
- Aircraft
- Mattison Starduster Too · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.873°N, 104.412°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030701X00990
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 28, 2003, at 1140 mountain daylight time, a Mattison Starduster Too, N80T, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain 300 feet west of the Colorado Springs East Airport (A50), Ellicott, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The local flight originated approximately 5 minutes prior to the accident. The airplane's owner said that the purpose of the flight was to ferry the airplane from A50 to Meadow Lake Airport, Falcon, Colorado. The owner said the airplane was fueled just prior to takeoff. The owner told the pilot before the flight, "Please don't do anything fancy. I don't want you to break my pretty airplane." Witnesses on the ground stated the airplane took off, "circled the pattern," and made a low pass over runway 17 (4,550 feet by 52 feet, dry asphalt) at approximately 200 feet. Approximately midway down the runway, the witnesses observed the airplane make a slow roll to the right. One witness stated that approximately two-thirds of the way through the roll the airplane flew into the ground at a steep angle. Another witness stated the airplane was "at about 200 feet off the ground. He pulled up and started his roll to the right." The witness said halfway through the roll with the airplane upside down, the airplane started failing out of the roll. The witness said the pilot " started to turn the plane back over while coming o
Probable cause
the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision to perform aerobatics at low altitude and the failed welds at the elevator horn and torque tube. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot performing aerobatics at low altitude, his inability to maintain aircraft control after the elevator attachment failed, the poor welds at the elevator horn and torque tube, the builder's poor installati
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
