- Date
- May 24, 1998, 10:07 local (16:07 UTC)
- Place
- Hurricane, UT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6272AMader WAG-AERO 2+2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980524010779A
- Case key
- 20625
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
An encounter with high vegetation and unsuitable terrain during a forced landing. A factor was a partial failure of the engine's exhaust stack during flight.
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 practicing touch-and-go landings. While on downwind, the engine began to run rough, and smoke entered the cabin from underneath the instrument panel. He turned off the electrical system, then executed a forced landing in an unplowed wheat field. Upon touchdown, the landing gear became entangled with wheat, causing the aircraft to nose over. Postaccident examination of the aircraft's engine revealed that the exhaust stack had fractured, allowing exhaust gases to envelope a fuel line.
Factual narrative
On May 24, 1998, at 1007 mountain daylight time, a Mader Wag-Aero 2+2 homebuilt airplane, N6272A, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Hurricane, Utah. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was being operated by the owner under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight which originated from Hurricane Airport approximately 7 minutes before the accident. No flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot, he was practicing touch-and-go landings on runway 18 (3,410 feet x 40 feet, asphalt). While on downwind, the engine began to run rough, and smoke entered the cabin from underneath the instrument panel. He turned off the electrical system, then executed a forced landing in an unplowed wheat field. Prior to touchdown, he turned the fuel selector off, and the engine quit. Upon touchdown, the landing gear became entangled with wheat, causing the tail section of the aircraft to be lifted, and the aircraft nosed over. The propeller and the vertical stabilizer were damaged.
Postaccident examination of the aircraft's engine revealed that the exhaust stack had fractured, allowing exhaust gases to envelope a fuel line.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6272A
- Reported as
- Mader WAG-AERO 2+2 (WAG-AERO 2)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 246
- Airframe hours
- 50
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William J. Mader
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 18, 1997 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- 1L8 · Hurricane, UT
- Airport
- 1L8 · Hurricane
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 763 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SGU, 14 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.