# NTSB LAX03LA275: Bacon Questair #20 Venture, N29G, Carefree, AZ, September 2, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 2, 2003, 05:50 local (12:50 UTC) - Place: Carefree, AZ - Coordinates: 33.818054, -111.897781 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8181&lon=-111.8978&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 57836 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX03LA275 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57836/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA275 ## Probable cause The pilot's misjudgment of speed/distance and his failure to do a go-around. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain directional control, and his delay aborting the landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - distance/altitude - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - directional control - not obtained/maintained, pilot in command (cause) - go-around - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - airport sign/marker - In flight collision with object, landing - aborted - abort - delayed, pilot in command (cause) - object - wall/barricade ## Analysis The airplane collided with a wall at the departure end of the runway during an aborted landing attempt. Tire skid marks on the runway indicated the airplane touched down 2/3 of the way down the length of the runway. The airplane veered to the right and entered a taxiway. The pilot attempted to regain aircraft control and powered up the engine. At that point the airplane started to travel 45-degrees toward the runway. It crossed a dirt section and the left main landing gear struck a visual approach slope indicator light. The airplane, still at a 45-degree angle to the runway center line, then started to porpoise across the runway. The airplane then departed the left side of the runway, became airborne, and flew over a wash before impacting a wall. Witnesses indicated that after the airplane became airborne again, it had a 45-degree nose up pitch attitude, though it did not appear to be climbing. Witnesses said the engine sounded normal. The airframe was destroyed in the collision sequence and post crash fire. ## Factual narrative On September 2, 2003, at 0550 mountain standard time, an experimental Bacon Questair #20 Venture airplane, N29G, struck a wall during an aborted landing on runway 24 and was destroyed in a post-impact fire at the Sky Ranch at Carefree (18AZ), Carefree, Arizona. The private pilot/owner and one passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that departed the Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (ABQ), Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 0302. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight had been filed. The pilot cancelled the IFR flight plan prior to reaching 18AZ. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the accident site, stated that the airplane touched down at a point 2/3rd's of the way down the runway length, where he observed tire skid marks on the runway. According to the tire tracks and skid marks, the airplane veered to the right, crossing over a section of dirt before entering the taxiway. Once on the taxiway the airplane tracked straight on the pavement for a distance. Witnesses heard the engine power up at this point. The tracks then turned back towards the runway. As the airplane traveled at a 45-degree angle to the runway, it crossed a section of dirt, where the left main landing gear struck a visual approach slope indicator (VASI) light. The airplane started to porpoise across the runway, and continued off the runway, still at a 45-degree angle. The airplane became airborne and flew over a wash. After crossing the wash the airplane flew into a wall. Witnesses who observed the accident saw only portions of the accident. Not one witness observed the accident from start to finish. One witness on the airport stated that when the pilot powered up the engine they did not hear anything abnormal. They also stated that as the airplane became airborne it was flying at a 45-degree angle nose up, but not climbing, just before it struck the wall and burst into flames. According to another witness, who was driving in a westerly direction prior to the accident, the airplane was traveling in the same direction. He noted his cars' speed at 40 mph, and stated that it appeared that the airplane was going much faster. Another witness, who was out walking his dog about 1/8 mile east of the airport, heard a noise and looked up into the sky. When he saw the airplane, he looked down at his watch and noted that it was 0550. A curfew existed for 18AZ that ended at 0600. The witness stated that the airplane's engine was idled back, but that the airplane was high and traveling fast. The airframe was destroyed in the collision sequence and post crash fire. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION The Maricopa County Coroner conducted an autopsy on the pilot on September 3, 2003. A toxicological analysis was performed by the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from samples obtained during the autopsy. The results of the analysis were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, and drugs. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N29G](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N29G-2017-02-17), registration cancelled 2017-02-17, S/N 39 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BACON Questair #20 Venture - Registry model: [Bacon Roger D QUESTAIR #20 VENTURE](https://openairdocs.org/model/bacon-roger-d-questair-20-venture) (registry code 05616ZD) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-550 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-series) (registry code 17042, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 39 - Engines: Teledyne Continental IO-550 310 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Robert S. Gisburne - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: ABQ, Albuquerque, NM - Destination: 18AZ, Carefree, AZ - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: 18AZ, Sky Ranch, runway 24, 4,037 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; toxicology performed ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dawn - Wind: 70° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg - Observed at: DVT, 12 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030902025659A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030902025659A), Sep 2, 2003: Amtr QUESTAIR20, Carefree, AZ, Destroyed, 2 fatal. (-23) On September 2, 2003, at 0550 mountain standard time, an experimental bacon questair #20 venture, N29G, struck a wall during a rejected landing and was… 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.