- Date
- August 25, 1983, 12:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Atchison, KS
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N798GGrieme Skybolt
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 33350
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 acrt crashed 200 ft short of the rwy when the engine failed to respond on a short final approach. The acft came to rest 100 ft below the rwy level. The landing gear was broken backward. The nose of the acrt was against a dirt bank. There was less than 1 inch of fuel in one corner of the fuel tank. All fuel lines were intact but the firewall fuel filter was broken and could have leaked. During testing it was capable of syphoning the fuel down to NE pint remaining in the tank when the soil under the position of the filter was dug into a strong smell of fuel was evident. The pilot said this acrt had a vapor lock problem before and a new fuel pump was installed. The fuel boost pump was off at the accident site but the throttle was full foward and the mixture control was full rich. The pilot had reduced power on the dowwind leg and reapplied it on final in an attempt to reach the rwy.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N798G
- Reported as
- Grieme Skybolt
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 01
- Airframe hours
- 110
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540 G1C5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William L. Grieme
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 15, 1983 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- K27 · Ft. Madison, IA
- Airport
- K59 · Amelia Earhart, runway 16, 3,000 × 50 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 46
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 140 in this make and model · 3,040 as pilot in command · 190 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg