- Date
- June 25, 1989, 12:05 local (17:05 UTC)
- Place
- Kirkland, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N11WRRenninger Mustang II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890625017349A
- Case key
- 14185
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
Fuel starvation (possibly from vapor lock), which resulted in loss of engine power, and the pilot's misjudgement of ground clearance during a final turn to land.
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
About 25 min after lndg from a previous flt, the plt took off to practice takeoffs & lndgs on rwy 18. He climbed about 1200' & turned onto a crosswind leg. At about that time, the eng began to lose power. The plt tried to land on rwy 27, but he did not have sufficient alt & speed. As he was completing a turn toward the rwy, a wing tip contacted the grnd & the acft crash landed. The acft slid to a stop on the rwy. The plt said he then turned the fuel selector off, but about 4 to 5 min later, a fire erupted, which he was unable to extinguish with a fire extinguisher. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd. The acft had been svcd with auto fuel, which contained a lower vapor pressure than aviation fuel & was more vulnerable to vapor lock.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N11WR
- Reported as
- Renninger Mustang II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 448
- Airframe hours
- 375
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Paul E. Rivers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 23, 1988 · 67 hours before
- Airport
- Bunger Airfield, runway 27, 2,400 × 150 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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 280 total · 71 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ARR, 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.