- Date
- July 29, 1986, 20:00 local (Jul 30, 1986, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sturdevant, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N54314Wheeler Gold Wing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860729036619A
- Case key
- 13314
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.
Analysis
This aircraft force landed shortly after takeoff and was substantially damaged when the wing struck the shoulder of a ditch during the landing. An examination of the engine after the accident revealed that the fuel pump was improperly installed (not in accordance to the manufacturers instructions). According to the manufacturer, the fuel pump as installed on this homebuilt would quit operating because the pump was mounted below the impulse nipple of the engine. Also, the primer system for this engine allowed air to leak into a fuel line supplying fuel to the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54314
- Reported as
- Wheeler Gold Wing
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 21003
- Airframe hours
- 6
- Engine
- Cuyuna 9600, 35 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hugh E. Wheeler
- Registered owner
- Hugh E. Wheeler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · October 29, 1985 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- C89 · Sturtevant, WI
- Airport
- C89 · Sylvania, runway 8L, 2,300 × 40 ft, grass/turf
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 778 total · 6 in this make and model · 778 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 190° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MKE, 30 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.