- Date
- April 18, 1987, 12:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Kankakee, IL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N501RMBede BD5 A-B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870418010039A
- Case key
- 13557
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
The pilot took off on the first test flight in his homebuilt aircraft and after climbing to approximately 1000 ft. AGL, stalled the aircraft. The aircraft then subsequently entered a spin and collided with the ground. There were reports of the aircraft's engine 'sputtering'. Investigators determined that the propeller was not spinning at impact. The pilot had reported carburetion problems prior to the accident flight, but the engine was too badly damaged by post impact fire to allow a determination of what caused a powerloss.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N501RM
- Reported as
- Bede BD5 A-B
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1736-A
- Airframe hours
- 6
- Engine
- Kawasaki KR-1000, 83 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Magee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 13, 1987 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- IKK · Kankakee, IL
- Airport
- IKK · Greater Kankakee
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 214 total · 214 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 4° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 80 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.