- Date
- April 26, 1994, 19:00 local (Apr 27, 1994, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lander, WY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N134QWaco UPF-7
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 2, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940426009299A
- Case key
- 41917
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
Poor in-flight planning decision. Factors to the accident were: whiteout conditions and inadvertent VFR into IMC.
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
While following a highway through a mountain pass, the flight encountered a whiteout condition that reduced visibility to instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot lost all ground reference and opted to descend in altitude with the slowest possible airspeed. The pilot kept the wings level until the airplane collided with the ground in an open field.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 1994, at 1900 mountain daylight time, a Waco UPF-7, N134Q, collided with the terrain near Lander, Wyoming, during a personal flight. The flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the airline transport pilot received minor injuries. The flight had originated from Rawlins, Wyoming, on April 26, 1994, at 1715, and was en route to Billings, Montana.
The pilot reported that he was following a highway in visual meteorological conditions. As the flight approached the mountains and rising terrain, the weather began to deteriorate and snow was falling. When the flight turned around a bend, the airplane encountered instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot reported that he lost all ground reference in the whiteout condition and was unable to turn the airplane around due to the lack of terrain clearance. The pilot opted to descend in altitude and reduced power to the slowest possible airspeed. The pilot kept the wings level until the airplane collided with the terrain in an open field.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N134Q
- Reported as
- Waco UPF-7
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5484
- Airframe hours
- 2,670
- Engine
- Continental W-670-6A, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ulrich, Philip J.
- Registered owner
- Ulrich, Philip J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 1993 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- RWL · Rawlins, WY
- Destination
- BIL · Billings, MT
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
- 37
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 12 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 135 in the last 90 days · 55 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N134Q · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.