# Accident 19970712018149A: Waco UPF7, Springfield, IL, July 12, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 12, 1997, 18:15 local time - Place: Springfield, IL - Airport: Capital Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Descent - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 39.8537° N, 89.6922° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.8537&lon=-89.6922&mi=10 - Aircraft: N30136, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N30136) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Waco UPF-7 (registry code 9601302, https://openairdocs.org/model/waco-upf-7) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R-985 series (registry code 52008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r-985-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: WACO UPF7 - Reported engine: PWA R985AN14B - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 17,000 total, 6,000 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI97LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA211) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970712018149A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AIRCRAFT WAS PERFORMING AIRSHOW ROUTINE, HIT THE GROUND WHILE COMPLETING A HALF CUBAN EIGHT MANEUVER. (.4)THE PILOT SAID THAT HE WAS PERFORMING AN AIRSHOW ROUTINE WITH ANOTHER AIRPLANE. HE HAD JUST COME ACROSS THE TOP OF A '1/2 CUBAN EIGHT' MANEUVER, AND VISUALLY LOCATED THE OTHER AIRPLANE, AS HE WAS MANEUVERING FOR AN OPPOSING PASS. HE STATED, 'DESCENDING BACK TO SHOW CENTER, I LOST SIGHT OF THE OTHER AIRPLANE DUE TO MY TOP WING BEING IN MY LINE OF SIGHT.' THE PILOT VISUALLY SEARCHED FOR THE OTHER AIRPLANE. HE SAID, 'DUE TO THE TIME OF DAY, HAZE AND COLOR OF THE OTHER AIRPLANE, I DIDN'T PICK HIM UP. AT ONE INSTANT, SOMETHING CAUGHT MY EYE. I GLANCED UP, AND THE NEXT INSTANT, TOUCHED DOWN ON A SLIGHT DESCENT AT ABOUT 160 MILES PER HOUR. THE LONG RIGID [LANDING] GEAR COLLAPSED EASILY. I PULLED THE AIRPLANE BACK INTO THE AIR, MADE A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN TO LINE UP ON RUNWAY 13 AND LANDED.' EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED NO ANOMALIES. (-23) THE AIRMAN WAS COMPLETING A HALF CUBAN EIGHT MANEUVER (A HALF LOOP WITH A ROLL AT THE TOP TO THE RIGHT SIDE UP POSITION, FOLLOWED BY A RAPID DES CENT) AFTER TAKEOFF DURING THE OPENING ACT OF AN AIRSHOW. AT THE COMPLETION OF THE MANEUVER, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED BACK INTO THE AIR, THE AIRMAN BANKED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE RIGHT OF THE SHOWLINE AND SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED AN EMERGENCY LANDING, WITH NO POWER AND WITHOUT LANDING GEAR, ON RUNWAY 13. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND STATED THAT HE BECAME DISTRACTED BECAUSE OF HAZE AND THE FACT THAT THE UPPER WING CENTER SECTION BLOCKED HIS VISION. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CHI97LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA211), Jul 12, 1997: Waco UPF-7 (N30136), Springfield, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain safe altitude/clearance from the terrain. Factors relating to this accident were: the hazy weather condition, the resultant difficulty in keeping the other airplane… ## Other reports on N30136 (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20110312007139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110312007139A), Mar 12, 2011: Waco UPF-7 (N30136), Brownsville, TX, Destroyed. On mar. 12, 2011, a Waco UPF-7, aircraft performing during an airshow, lost power and crashed into a wooded area at the Brownsville airport. After coming out… - [Accident 19821003050259A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19821003050259A), Oct 3, 1982: Waco UPF7 (N30136), Albuquerque, NM, Substantial damage. Made several go-arounds due to a locked right brake. Cut brake line. Still locked. Nosed over landing off runway. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.