- Date
- November 25, 1994, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- High Point, NC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N432JRBartholomew Firestar
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941125039249A
- Case key
- 3499
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The inadvertent deactivation of the engine ignition system by the pilot, which resulted in loss of engine power.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was flying at 2,000 feet MSL when he reached for a map. As he did this, he inadvertently shut off the engine ignition toggle switch. The engine quit, and the pilot was unable to restart the engine prior to a collision with trees. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction or failure with the aircraft, and none was found during the examination of the wreckage.
Factual narrative
On November 25, 1994, at 1530 eastern standard time, a Bartholomew Firestar, N432JR, collided with trees during a forced landing in High Point, North Carolina. The commercial pilot had minor injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The homebuilt aircraft was operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight to Waxhaw, North Carolina. The flight originated in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 1450.
The pilot reported that the aircraft was in cruise flight, at 2,000 feet mean sea level, when he reached for a map. As he did this, he inadvertently switched off the ignition toggle switch. The engine quit, and he could not restart the engine in time to avert a forced landing. The aircraft collided with cedar trees during the landing, resulting in structural damage to the pilot cage.
An examination of the aircraft did not reveal evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure, and none was reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N432JR
- Reported as
- Bartholomew Firestar
- Category
- Ultralight, amateur-built
- Serial number
- BHHW-1
- Airframe hours
- 356
- Engine
- Rotax 377, 37 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bartholomew, Paul R.
- Registered owner
- Bartholomew, Paul R.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 7, 1994 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- W88 · Greensboro, NC
- Destination
- NC18 · Waxhaw, NC
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total · 150 in this make and model · 1,100 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GSO, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N432JR · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.