- Date
- July 31, 1986, 12:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Rawlins, WY
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N85JJThorp T-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860731036679A
- Case key
- 16840
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 accident acft, a thorp T-18, was one of four acft (quickie ii, varieze, longeze) in a loose formation that was en route to the annual eaa convention at oshkosh, WI. The acft departed redding, CA, at 0500 PDT, refueled at wendover, UT, and departed there at 1100 MDT. At about 1230 MDT, while in cruise flt at 9500 ft MSL over I-80, about 5 mi west of Rawlins, WY, the spinner on the quickie ii came loose and broke off a prop blade. The plt declared an emergency and made a successful downwind dead-stick landing at rowlins arpt. The other acft circled overhead. The thorp was last seen pulling up and banking right. None of the pilots saw the thorp T-18 crash. Two ground witnesses said that the acft was either 'wig-wagging its wings' or doing aerobatics. The plt was said to be 'a relatively low time plt' with about 40 hrs in make/model. Additionally, it was said that this flt was the plt's 'first really long x-country.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85JJ
- Reported as
- Thorp T-18
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 840
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James L. Fleury
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- ENV · Wendover, UT
- Destination
- CYS · Cheyenne, WY
- Airport
- RWL · Rawlins Mun
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 170 total · 40 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RWL, 2 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.