- Date
- August 18, 1982, 11:35 local (16:35 UTC)
- Place
- Rock Falls, IL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N29660Taylorcraft BL-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 18, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820818039269A
- Case key
- 72407
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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.
Fire
Aircraft preflight - inadequateCause
Fuel system,cap - separationCause
Aerobatics - performedCause
Fuselage - fire
Flight control surfaces/attachments - fire
Loss of control - in flight
In flight collision with terrain/water
Analysis
Aircraft caught fire while performing aerobatics and crashed out of control. Gas tank cap had come off and during inverted flight fuel spilled out and ignited.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29660
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft BL-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2500
- Airframe hours
- 4,636
- Engine
- Lycoming O-145-B2, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Halvor R. Christianson
- Registered owner
- Halvor R. Christianson
- Departed
- SQI · Rock Falls, IL
- Destination
- SQI · Rock Falls, IL
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 445 total · 318 in this make and model · 380 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 180 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RFD, 39 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.