# NTSB CHI94LA294: Watson KR-2, N121CW, Pekin, IL, August 23, 1994 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 23, 1994, 10:40 local (15:40 UTC) - Place: Pekin, IL - Coordinates: 40.56039, -89.620002 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5604&lon=-89.6200&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report May 4, 1995 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 9650 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI94LA294 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/9650/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI94LA294 ## Probable cause Aircraft control not maintained by the pilot and the subsequent stall. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Abrupt maneuver, takeoff - initial climb - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - lack of recent experience, pilot in command (contributing factor) - stall - encountered, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED TO ABOUT 400 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THEY SAID THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP AND YAWED TO THE RIGHT, DESCENDING VERTICALLY AS IT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. ONE OF THE WITNESSES SAID THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO DO A RIGHT-HAND SPIRAL BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE GROUND. THE ON-SCENE INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO FAILURE OF THE CONTROL SYSTEM. THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A MECHANICALLY ACTIVATED LANDING GEAR RETRACTION SYSTEM. IT WAS ACTIVATED BY THE PILOT PUSHING A LEVER MECHANISM FORWARD AND LOCKING IT WHEN THE LEVER WAS PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR. THE FLIGHT CONTROL STICK AND RETRACTION LEVER WERE LOCATED DIRECTLY OPPOSITE EACH OTHER ON THE AIRPLANE'S MAIN WING SPAR. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN ABOUT 7 HOURS IN 1994. ALL OF IT BEING IN THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. DURING 1993, THE PILOT HAD FLOWN A TOTAL OF 1.4 HOURS IN A CESSNA 152. ## Factual narrative On August 23, 1994, at 1040 central daylight time (cdt), a Watson KR-2, N121CW, registered to Charles Watson of East Peoria, Illinois, and piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed during a collision with the ground following a witness reported steep diving turn. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight departed Pekin, Illinois, at 1040 cdt. Two witnesses, the airplane's owner and a local resident, reported the airplane took off on runway 27 (5,000' X 75' dry asphalt) at the Pekin Municipal Airport, Pekin, Illinois. They said the airplane was about 400 feet above the departure end of the runway when it pitched up and descended vertically until it collided with the ground. The airplane owner said the airplane appeared to do a hammerhead stall maneuver to the right. The second witness said the airplane appeared to do a one turn, tight, right spiral before colliding with the ground. N121CW was constructed from wood, foam, and composite materials. The on-scene investigation was conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI). He said he could identify N121CW's rear fuselage section, empennage, mid-span section of the right wing, and instrument panel, and the cockpit landing gear retraction mechanism. According to the PMI, the remainder of the airplane comprised various sized pieces of wood, fiberglass sheeting, and solid foam. The PMI said metal components and control cables associated with the rudder and elevator systems were found. He stated he established elevator and rudder control continuity. The aileron control system had been destroyed by collision forces. The throttle was found positioned full forward. N121CW's control stick assembly was mounted to the wing's main spar. The landing gear retraction handle was directly in front of the control stick. The handle is vertically mounted and on the opposite side of the main spar. To retract the landing gear, a trigger on the main handle must be pulled aft. Once this has been accomplished, the handle is pushed forward so that it parallels the cockpit floor. The control stick and retraction handle are manipulated by the pilot's left and right hands during the retraction of the landing gear. The landing gear retraction mechanism found in N121CW's remains did not resemble the one that had been provided by the designer/kit manufacturer. During a conversation with a representative of the kit manufacturer it was decided that the retracting mechanism installed in N121CW was an after-market product. Illustrations of both mechanisms are appended to this report. A review of the pilot's logbook revealed he had flown the accident airplane 7.1 hours. The logbook showed 1.4 hours of time in the airplane with "0" in the logbook's "number of landings" column. The pilot's first flight during 1994 was in the accident airplane during July 9, 1994. Before that flight, the pilot flew 1.4 hours on January 23, 1993. This flight was a biennial flight review (BFR) conducted at night in a Cessna 152. According to the logbook, the BFR was the only flight the pilot made during 1993. Most of the pilot's flight time had been in single-engine Cessna and Piper airplanes. His logbook showed he had logged 4.3 hours in a CGS Hawk homebuilt airplane during July, 1984. The Tazewell County Coroner's Office stated the cause of death for the pilot was the airplane crash. A toxicological report from the Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Forensic Toxicology Laboratory said that there were no drugs or ethanol found in the specimens examined. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N121CW](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N121CW-1996-08-27), registration cancelled 1996-08-27, S/N 001 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: WATSON KR-2 - Registry model: [Watson Charles K KR2](https://openairdocs.org/model/watson-charles-k-kr2) (registry code 05623FH) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 001 - Airframe hours: 14 - Engines: Hapi 60-2DM 60 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Part 91 - Registered owner: Charles K. Watson - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, June 10, 1994, 1 hours before - Departed: C15 - Destination: C15, IL - Airport: C15, Pekin Municipal Airport, runway 27, 5,000 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; airline transport, student, foreign, private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 777 total, 7 in this make and model, 674 as pilot in command, 4 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 25 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Observed at: C15 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19940823022729A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940823022729A), Aug 23, 1994: Amtr KR2, Pekin, IL, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Stalled on climbout and dived to ground. Manual gear retraction system entails using both hands possible factor. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.