# Accident 20190708009499A: Knight-Wilcox VARIEZE, Sugar Grove, IL, July 8, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 2019, 16:15 local time
- Place: Sugar Grove, IL
- Airport: Aurora
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.8686° N, 88.5797° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.8686&lon=-88.5797&mi=10
- Aircraft: N112EZ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N112EZ-2019-12-19) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Knight-Wilcox VARIEZE (registry code 05609Y3, https://openairdocs.org/model/knight-wilcox-varieze) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85-12 (registry code 17124, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: KNIGHT-WILCOX VARIEZE
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C85
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 11,025 total, 14 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN19LA216](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19LA216) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190708009499A

## Narrative

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

THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED WAUKEGAN (KUGN) AIRPORT FOR AURORA (KARR) AIRPORT. KARR WAS REPORTING IFR CONDITIONS DUE TO HAZE AND SMOKE. THE PILOT DECIDED TO HOLD WEST OF ARR WHILE HE AWAITED A SPECIAL VFR CLEARANCE. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD SET THE POWER TO 1900 RPM TO MAINTAIN 90 KNOTS, WHICH IS WITHIN THE NORMAL POWER OPERATING RANGE. THE PILOT ALSO STATED THAT THE MIXTURE WAS LEANED AS NORMAL.

WHILE THE PILOT WAS HOLDING WEST OF KARR, THE ENGINE QUIT RUNNING, AND THE PROPELLER STOPPED WIND-MILLING. THE AIRCRAFT DOES NOT HAVE A STARTER, AND THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO GET THE ENGINE RESTARTED WITH THE COMPLETE POWER LOSS IN FLIGHT CHECKLIST. THE CHECKLIST CALLS FOR THE PILOT TO REACH A MINIMUM OF 130 KNOTS TO GET THE PROPELLER WIND-MILLING. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE REACHED 165 KNOTS, BUT THE PROPELLER DID NOT WIND-MILL.

THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND ELECTED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON THE WESTBOUND LANES OF INTERSTATE 88. WHILE LANDING ON THE WESTBOUND LANES OF I-88, THE RIGHT WING HIT A PICKUP TRUCK'S LEFT SIDE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN CONTACTED THE STEEL CABLES THAT ARE PART OF INTERSTATE DIVIDING MEDIAN. BOTH WINGS AND THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED DAMAGE. THERE WAS NO POST-ACCIDENT FIRE. THE PILOT?S RIGHT FOOT WAS INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REMOVED FROM I-88 AND TRAILERED TO KARR.

## 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 CEN19LA216](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19LA216), Jul 8, 2019: Rutan Varieze (N112EZ), Kaneville, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat while operating at low power settings in conditions conducive to the development of carburetor ice, and the subsequent total loss of engine power due to…

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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