# Accident 20020212001489A: Amtr GLASAIR, Minden, NV, February 12, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 12, 2002, 16:30 local time - Place: Minden, NV - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 39.0103° N, 119.7494° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0103&lon=-119.7494&mi=10 - Aircraft: N777WE, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N777WE-2002-07-26) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Ellenberger Werner GLASAIR I TD (registry code 05691CF, https://openairdocs.org/model/ellenberger-werner-glasair-i-td) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR GLASAIR - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX02LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA085) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020212001489A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON FEBRUARY 12, 2002, ABOUT 1630 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL ELLENBERGER GLASAIR I TD, N777WE, IMPACTED TERRAIN IN A PASTURE 6 MILES SOUTH OF MINDEN, NEVADA. THE PRIVATE-CERTIFICATED PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE AMATEUR-BUILT AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE LOCAL AREA PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY MANSBERGER AIRCRAFT, INC., UNDER 14 CFR PART 91, AND DEPARTED FROM THE MINDEN-TAHOE AIRPORT ABOUT 1600. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. ACCORDING TO THE OPERATOR, THE PILOT DEPARTED MINDEN ABOUT 1600 AND TOLD HIM HIS INTENT WAS TO PRACTICE STALL MANEUVERS. WHEN HE DID NOT RETURN THAT EVENING AN ALERT NOTICE (ALNOT) WAS ISSUED. THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED SAW AN UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT IN HIS PASTURE THE FOLLOWING MORNING (FEBRUARY 13, 2002); HOWEVER, HE HAD OTHER PRESSING BUSINESS AND DIDN'T RETURN TO IDENTIFY THE WRECKAGE UNTIL THE AFTERNOON OF THAT DAY. AN INSPECTOR FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION RENO FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE RESPONDED TO THE SCENE. HE REPORTED THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS IN AN OPEN PASTURE, AND THAT THE ENTIRE AIRPLANE WAS PRESENT IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA OF THE WRECKAGE WITH NO APPRECIABLE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION. THERE WAS NO FIRE. THE FORWARD 1/2 OF THE ENGINE WAS BURIED IN THE SOIL AT A 30- TO 45-DEGREE ANGLE. THE COMPOSITE AIRFRAME WAS EXTENSIVELY FRACTURED; HOWEVER, FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED TO THE COCKPIT. THE LEFT AND RIGHT WING LEADING EDGES EXHIBITED CRUSHING DAMAGE AFT TO THE WING SPAR AND THERE WAS AN IMPACT MARK ON THE SURFACE OF THE DIRT IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF THE WING OF SIZE AND SHAPE CONSISTENT WITH THE LEADING EDGE SHAPE AND SPAN. THERE WERE NO TREES IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA AND THOSE IN THE DISTANCE SHOWED NO VISIBLE EVIDENCE OF IMPACT. THERE WERE NO ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION LINES IN THE PROXIMITY. (-23) "EXPERIMENTAL GLASAIR, N777WE, IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES SOUTH OF MINDEN, NEVADA. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY A 45 DEGREE ANGLE. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT DESTROYED." ## 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 LAX02LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA085), Feb 13, 2002: Ellenberger/Werner Glasair I TD (N777WE), Minden, NV, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane resulting in the airplane entering a flat spin from which the pilot did not recover. ## Other reports on N777WE (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19961021037999I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961021037999I), Oct 21, 1996: Amtr GLASAIRIII (N777WE), Rancho Murieta, CA, Minor damage. Narrative: pilot landed the aircraft after a normal approach. And touchdown. On taxi aircraft directional control was lost. The aircraft departed the paved… 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.