# Accident 20010527014189A: Kankakee, IL, May 27, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 27, 2001, 08:30 local time
- Place: Kankakee, IL
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.1092° N, 87.8604° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1092&lon=-87.8604&mi=10
- Aircraft: N77VZ (not matched to a registry record)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI01LA149](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA149) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010527014189A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.19)ON MAY 27, 2001, ABOUT 0830 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A GEERTZ ZENITH CH 200, MARKED AS N77VZ, PILOTED BY A PRIVATE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE ON IMPACT WITH TREES AND TERRAIN NEAR KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS ON CLIMB OUT FROM RUNWAY 34 AT GREATER KANKAKEE AIRPORT, NEAR KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATING UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS ON FILE. THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE LOCAL FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. (-23) AT APPROXIMATELY 0830 ON MAY 27, 2001 AN AMATEUR BUILT ZENITH 200, N77VZ, S/N A142, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES SOUTH OF KANKAKEE, IL. A WITNESS REPORTED SEEING THE AIRCRAFT IN A BANK TURN TO THE LEFT AND THEN NOSEDIVED STRAIGHT DOWN. THE WITNESS STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT SPIN WHILE GOING DOWN AND THERE WERE NO OTHE MOVEMENTS AFTER IT NOSED DOWN. THE TOTAL OBSERVATION TIME WAS NOT MORE THAN 15 SECONDS. WITNESS ALSO STATED THAT IT APPEARED THE AIRCRAFT WAS OUT OF CONTROL AFTER THE LEFT BANK. AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND INVERTED IN A CREEK, AND RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT                                                           APPEARS TO HAVE LOST CONTROL FOR SOME UNEXPLAINED REASON AND RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. POST CRASH FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY CHECKS WERE COMPLETED AND EVERYTHING APPEARED TO BE OPERATING NORMALLY.

## 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 CHI01LA149](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA149), May 27, 2001: Geertz Zenith CH 200 (N77VZ), Kankakee, IL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The loss of control on initial climbout for undetermined reasons.

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.

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