- Date
- July 19, 1983, 08:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Mojave, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N69EZVarieze 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830719033709A
- Case key
- 23475
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 plt purchased the acft a week before the accident. The day before the accident the plt stated to rutan aircraft factory personnel that he had never flown this type of acft in the past & was afraid of the acft. On the day of the accident witnesses observed the plt taxi the acft around the arpt for about 10 minutes before taking off at 0740. At 0839 the acft entered the downwind leg for rwy 22. As the acft approached rwy 22 on final the nose pitched down, followed by a 180 deg roll to the left in a downward attitude. The acft impacted a crossing rwy in an inverted position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69EZ
- Reported as
- Varieze 1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 41
- Airframe hours
- 81
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard James Carpenter
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 5, 1983 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- MHV · Mojave, runway 22, 9,600 × 200 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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 124 total · 1 in this make and model · 76 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 8 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °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.