- Date
- May 20, 1992, 15:20 local (19:20 UTC)
- Place
- Jeffersonville, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N64SJJames D. Bierly VARI-EZ
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920520015519A
- Case key
- 15253
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
A collapsed carburetor air intake duct. Factors related to the accident were soft, unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced landing.
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 was in the touch-and-go pattern using rwy 36 when a slower acft got in the pattern ahead of him. The pilot executed a go-around, and applied full throttle. While climbing out the engine quit completely. The pilot attempted to make a forced landing on rwy 14. The aircraft touched down short of the runway on soft sod, the nose gear collapsed, and aircraft nosed over. The investigation revealed that flexible carburetor air intake duct had completely collapsed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64SJ
- Reported as
- James D. Bierly VARI-EZ
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1854
- Airframe hours
- 275
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James D. Bierly
- Registered owner
- James D. Bierly
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · June 15, 1991
- Departed
- JVY
- Destination
- JVY
- Airport
- JVY · Jefersonville, runway 36, 5,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 478 total · 275 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 35,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.