- Date
- December 13, 1988, 08:54 local (16:54 UTC)
- Place
- Palo Alto, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N226RBBeard Varieze
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 29, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881213054099A
- Case key
- 26175
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 acft crashed 200 ft short of the rwy in a pond and nosed over. Witnesses heard the sounds of low power. Evidence of low/no power was shown by the prop. Investigation revealed that unapproved engine mods were made by pilot/owner. An untested carb heat system was installed. The control cable system was not properly mounted in the cockpit; it was loose near the control stick with no visible means of being held in the carb heat on position. Additionally, the carb heat air duct, mounted in close proximity to the no.4 exhaust pipe, had no provisions on the inlet of the duct to concentrate heated air for prevention of carburetor ice. Conditions conducive to carburetor icing existed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N226RB
- Reported as
- Beard Varieze
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2120
- Airframe hours
- 1,627
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Beard, Robert Wayne
- Registered owner
- Robert Wayne Beard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- NONE · Swansboro, CA
- Destination
- PAO · Palo Alto, CA
- Airport
- PAO · Palo Alto, runway 30, 2,500 × 65 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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 1,627 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PAO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.