- Date
- June 14, 1990, 14:10 local (19:10 UTC)
- Place
- Baraboo, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N888EKCirrus Klappmeier Cirrus VF-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900614020099A
- Case key
- 14478
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
Manufacturer's inadequate equipment design to prevent a fuel leak which resulted in an in-flight fire. A factor related to the accident was the lack of an unsuitable forced landing area.
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 amateur built aircraft was being flown on an experimental test flight. During initial climb a partial power loss was indicated, followed by an in-flight fire in the engine compartment. A forced landing was initiated in a field where the right main landing gear struck rough terrain and the fuel tank (wet wing) ruptured. Subseuqently the fire propagated to the leaking fuel and consumed te aircraft. Fuel injector lines were of the vinyl plastic (automotive) type and had leaked into the engine compartment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N888EK
- Reported as
- Cirrus Klappmeier Cirrus VF-30 (CIRRUS VF-)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 008
- Engine
- Greth EAGLE V-8, 365 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Klapmeier, Alan L.
- Departed
- C85 · Barbado, WI
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
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,400 total · 250 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSN, 35 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.