# Accident 20010720018799A: Mcdougall Mike RUTAN VERI EZE, Palm Springs, CA, July 20, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 20, 2001, 19:01 local time
- Place: Palm Springs, CA
- Airport: Palm Springs Regional Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.9181° N, 116.5911° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9181&lon=-116.5911&mi=10
- Aircraft: N25063, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N25063-2002-03-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mcdougall Mike RUTAN VERI EZE (registry code 05608IT, https://openairdocs.org/model/mcdougall-mike-rutan-veri-eze) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01FA253](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01FA253) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010720018799A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JULY 20, 2001, AT 1901 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A MCDOUGALL VERI EZE, N25063, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN NEAR PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS OPERATING THE BORROWED AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91.  THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES; THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED.  THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT DEPARTED CHINO, CALIFORNIA, ABOUT 1830, EN ROUTE TO PALM SPRINGS.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.  THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ACCIDENT COORDINATOR EXAMINED THE ACCIDENT SITE.  THE WRECKAGE COVERED AN AREA ABOUT 200 FEET WIDE AND OUT TO A DISTANCE OF 400 FEET FROM THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT.  THE AIRPLANE WAS HIGHLY FRAGMENTED AND THE DEBRIS FIELD ENCOMPASSED A WIND TURBINE AND ITS STANCHION.  THE CANARD WAS NOT IN THE MAIN DEBRIS FIELD AND NOT RECOVERED WITH THE MAIN WRECKAGE.  A DEPUTY SHERIFF STATED HE FOUND THE CANARD ABOUT 1/2 MILE FROM THE MAIN WRECKAGE ON A FOLLOW-UP SEARCH SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT.  THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT WAS AT 34 DEGREES 54.646 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE AND 116 DEGREES 34.893 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE.                                           (-23) ON JULY 20, 2001, A MCDOUGALL VERI-EZE IMPACTED TERRAIN NEAR PALM SPRINGS, CA. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE AICRAFT WAS DESTROYED. SUBSEQUENT TO THE INVESTIGATION, THE CANARD ASSEMBLY WAS RECOVERED .8 MILES BACK IN THE DIRECTION OF THE FLIGHT PATH. PALM SPRINGS WEATHER PERSONNEL HAVE REPORTED THAT DURING THE AFTERNOON OF THE ACCIDENT, PIREPS REPORTED SEVERE VERTICAL WIND MOVEMENT. THE VERTICAL WEATHER ACTIVITY MAY HAVE INDUCED FLUTTER VIBRATION THAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SEPARATION OF THE CANARD ASSEMBLY FROM THE FUSELAGE AND PRECIPITATED THE ACCIDENT.

## 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 LAX01FA253](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01FA253), Jul 21, 2001: McDougall Veri EZE (N25063), Palm Springs, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the failure of the builder to balance the elevators per the kit manufacturer's instructions resulting in flutter and in-flight separation of the right elevator.

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.