Hurricane Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hurricane, Utah 84774
Sunday, May 24, 1998 10:07 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings. While on downwind, the engine began to run rough, and smoke entered the cabin from underneath the instrument panel. He turned off the electrical system, then executed a forced landing in an unplowed wheat field. Upon touchdown, the landing gear became entangled with wheat, causing the aircraft to nose over. Postaccident examination of the aircraft's engine revealed that the exhaust stack had fractured, allowing exhaust gases to envelope a fuel line.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An encounter with high vegetation and unsuitable terrain during a forced landing. A factor was a partial failure of the engine's exhaust stack during flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/24/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1007
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City HURRICANE
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84774
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HURRICANE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1L8
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1050 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 259
Weather Observation Facility ID SGU
Elevation of weather observation facility 2938
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 4535
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 733
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 24 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1137
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6272A
NTSB Number FTW98LA241
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mader
Aircraft Model WAG-AERO 2+2
Aircraft Series Identifier WAG-AERO 2
Aircraft Serial Number 246
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 18 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 50
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAM J. MADER
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 342
Aircraft Owner City TOQUERVILLE
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84774
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 1L8
Departure City HURRICANE
Departure State UT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --