- Date
- April 26, 1985, 17:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Taylor, MO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N80LWLester F.W. West VP-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850426027719A
- Case key
- 33931
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 pilot used only half of the available 2900 feet of runway on his first flight in this homebuilt airplane. He lost flying speed climbing over wires at the end of the runway, went around trees and landed hard on a highway median.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80LW
- Reported as
- Lester F.W. West VP-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2230
- Engine
- Volkswagen 0, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Russell W. Wignall Sr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- K04 · Haerr, runway 15, 2,900 × 115 ft, grass/turf
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
- 30
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,080 total · 1,821 as pilot in command · 123 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.