# Accident 20240826016099A: Rudloff Joseph A RANS S-19, Crofton, NE, August 26, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 26, 2024, 09:30 local time
- Place: Crofton, NE
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.6961° N, 97.5508° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.6961&lon=-97.5508&mi=10
- Aircraft: N519JR, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N519JR) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Rudloff Joseph A RANS S-19 (registry code 05641GL, https://openairdocs.org/model/rudloff-joseph-a-rans-s-19) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotax 912ULS series (registry code 55572, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912uls-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: RUDLOFF JOSEPH A RANS S-19
- Reported engine: ROTAX 912ULS SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,475 total, 106 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN24FA326](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA326) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240826016099A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 26, 2024, ABOUT 0841, CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (CDT), A RANS S-19 AIRPLANE, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT NEAR CROFTON, NEBRASKA.  THE PILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES.  THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED AS A TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT.

THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND ABOUT 0930 IN AN AGRICULTURAL FIELD BY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.  FIRST RESPONDERS STATED THAT THE WEATHER AT THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS FOG WITH A VISIBILITY OF ABOUT 50 FT.  LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLE DASH CAMERA FOOTAGE AT 0946 SHOWED A CLOUD CEILING OF ABOUT 260 FT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL) WHEN COMPARED TO THE HEIGHT OF THE WIND TURBINE.  A METEOROLOGICAL EVALUATION TOWER (MET) FOR THE WIND COMPANY ABOUT 0.6 NAUTICAL MILES TO THE SOUTHWEST RECORDED 100% HUMIDITY AT 247 FT AGL STARTING AT 0340 AND CONTINUING UNTIL 1140.

THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS IN A GENTLY ROLLING AGRICULTURAL FIELD ABOUT 13 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHWEST OF YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA.  IMPACT MARKS AND DEBRIS WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE AIRPLANE IMPACTING THE TERRAIN IN A LEFT WING LOW, NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE.  THE DEBRIS FIELD WAS ABOUT 200FT IN LENGTH ON A HEADING OF ABOUT 023 DEGREES.  ADDITIONAL COCKPIT RELATED DEBRIS WERE FOUND ABOUT 500 FT PAST THE MAIN WRECKAGE.

THE MAIN WRECKAGE CONSISTED OF THE REAR FUSELAGE, EMPENNAGE, AND BOTH WINGS.  THE FORWARD FUSELAGE WITH THE ENGINE ATTACHED WERE FOUND IN A VERTICAL ORIENTATION IN A SHALLOW CRATER.  BOTH WING FUEL TANKS WERE FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE WING STRUCTURE WITH TANK WALL FRACTURES CONSISTENT WITH LIQUID HYDRAULIC DEFORMATION.

INSPECTION OF THE WIND TURBINE BY A WIND COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE SHOWED NO EVIDENCE OF AIRPLANE STRIKE DAMAGE OR WITNESS MARKS TO THE TOWER OR THE TURBINE BLADES.

## 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 CEN24FA326](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA326), Aug 26, 2024: Rans S19 (N519JR), Crofton, NE, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The non-instrument-rated pilot's decision to continue visual flight into an area of low cloud cover and precipitation which resulted in an inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological…

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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