- Date
- January 5, 1989, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Macon, MO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N66WRWells Varieze
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890105011949A
- Case key
- 34653
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Continued flight by the pilot into known adverse weather and his failure to maintain sufficient altitude/clearance above obstacles. Contributing factors were: low ceiling, fog, rain, pilot delaying flight to an alternate destination, his lack of recent flight experience, his lack of familiarity with the type of aircraft, and trees.
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 had just purchased the acft & was ferrying it from allegan, MI, to his home arpt at Kansas city, MO. An en routestop was made at peoria, IL, where he refueled & checked the wx. At peoria, FBO psnl noted he had fuel on the seat of his pants. He said fuel had gotten on his seat cushion from a leak at the top of a fuel sight gauge (near the aft seat).he had the acft refueled in a lvl attitude (rather than the usual nose low attitude) to keep fuel from leaking from the gauge. Bfr depg on the 2nd leg of the flt, the plt commented he would like to beat the wx to his home. Drg flt, the acfthit a tree, while on a nnw hdg nr Macon, MO, then crashed & burned. It was fnd on 5/5/89. Inv revealed there was a low ceiling in the area. Aprx 24 mi north at kirksville, MO, the wx was in part: 500' ovc, 2 mi vis with light rain & fog. Except for the rprtd fuel leak, no evidence was fnd of a mechanical malfunction or failure. Before the plt left allegan,he had no previous flt time in this make & model of acft & had not logged any flt time since 8/10/88.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66WR
- Reported as
- Wells Varieze
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 328
- Airframe hours
- 35
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Wilson, Duane A.
- Registered owner
- Harold J. Wells/Floyd G. Rock
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 28, 1988
- Departed
- PIA · Peoria, IL
- Destination
- MKC · Kansas City, MO
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,409 total · 1 in this make and model · 1,305 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IRK, 24 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.