Luce Buttercup accident near Lyndonville, NY
On May 28, 2023, a Luce Buttercup (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lyndonville, NY. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 28, 2023
- Place
- Lyndonville, NY
- Aircraft
- Luce Buttercup · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 43.313°N, 78.314°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230529192250
Official records · CEN23FA204
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 28, 2023, at 1815 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Luce Buttercup, N18263, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Lyndonville, New York. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. On the day of the accident, the pilot provided airplane rides during a picnic using another airplane. The pilot-rated passenger told the pilot that he wanted to go flying, so the pilot conducted a preflight inspection of the accident airplane, and they departed on the accident flight, which was to be about 15 to 20 minutes in duration. The pilot was seated in the left seat and the pilot-rated passenger was seated in the right seat. A witness stated that he heard a low-flying airplane flying toward the southwest and then saw some pieces of the airplane falling into an orchard just south of his home; he then lost sight of the airplane. A second witness saw the airplane flying southeast and banking right. The second witness stated that when the airplane leveled off, the left wing came off the airplane, followed by the right wing. The airplane then spun into a field. There was no flight tracking data associated with the airplane. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe accident airplane, a Luce Buttercup, was built by the accident pilot based on dimensions from the original Wittman Buttercup, for which there were no plans produced. The accident pilot produced and sold his own plans for the Luce Buttercup based on the original Wittman design. The L
Probable cause
An in-flight breakup due to structural overload of the airplane for undetermined reasons.
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Browse: New York
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
