Plane Crash List

Rutan VARIEZE N101MW

17 February 1985 · Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 17 February 1985 at about 21:00 local time, a Rutan VARIEZE registered N101MW was involved in an accident near Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

The record

Date
at 21:00
Classification
Accident
Location
Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States
Nearest airport
Mt Vernon (MVN)
Coordinates
38.3093, -88.9091
Aircraft
Rutan VARIEZE
Registration
N101MW
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
CHI85LA113

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
2 0 0 0 2

Probable cause

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE ACFT LNDG GEAR COLLAPSED AFTER SEVERAL LNDGS. THE PLT WAS PRACTICING TOUCH & GO LNDGS AND COMPLETED 5 CIRCUITS. DURING THE 6TH LNDG THE MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED AT TOUCHDOWN. THE NOSE GEAR THEN COLLAPSED THIS MODEL VARIEZE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A LNDG GEAR THAT WAS FOUND TO BE TOO WEAK. LATER VERSIONS HAD AN IMPROVED SYSTEM WHICH WAS STRONGER. NO PROVISION TO MAKE THE CHANGE MADATORY HAD BEEN MADE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Rutan VARIEZE accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
10 Feb 1986 Rutan VARIEZE
N36RJ
Los Almos, California, United States Richard N. Link No injuries -
9 Jan 1983 Rutan VARIEZE
N441EZ
Youngstown, Ohio, United States
no coordinates
- Serious injuries -
15 Apr 1982 Rutan VARIEZE
N4SN
Concord, California, United States
no coordinates
C. B. Moore No injuries -
5 Sep 1982 Rutan VARIEZE
N41EB
Litchfield, Illinois, United States
no coordinates
Emerald J. Ullman Serious injuries -
23 Mar 1992 Rutan VARIEZE
N39L
Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States Richard W. Cobean No injuries -
8 Jul 2019 Rutan VARIEZE
N112EZ
Kaneville, Illinois, United States - Minor injuries -

All 8 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
19 Oct 1985 Cessna 170A
N9271A
Murphysboro, Illinois, United States Paul E. van Houten Fatal 1
17 Nov 1985 Cessna 172N
N738PL
Mt Carmel, Illinois, United States Frank J. Altadonna Fatal 2
29 Nov 1985 Beechcraft BE 36
N3807Z
Odell, Illinois, United States Eugene Bouska Fatal 2
29 Nov 1985 Cessna 404 II
N167SA
Chicago, Illinois, United States - No injuries -
2 Jan 1985 Cessna 172M
N9484H
Mt Sterling, Illinois, United States - No injuries -
10 Jan 1985 Piper PA-32-301
N83187
Wheeling, Illinois, United States Holiday Airways No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States