Riley's Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Plainfield, Illinois 60544
Thursday, June 14, 2001 20:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was destroyed following an uncontrolled descent into terrain. The pilot was performing aerobatic maneuvers when a reported gust front from convective activity moved through the area at the time of the accident. The pilot did not remember the circumstances leading to the accident but did report that there were no mechanical malfunction failures with the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane reveled no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the improper in-flight planning/decision and the aircraft control not maintained by the pilot. The thunderstorm outflow was a contributing factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/14/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2005
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Plainfield
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 60544
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Riley's Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LL51
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.8
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 663
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 315
Weather Observation Facility ID ARR
Elevation of weather observation facility 706
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.85
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12160
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 14 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2225
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 10:10AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office DuPage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80VB
NTSB Number CHI01FA165
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name VanderBeek
Aircraft Model Christen Eagle II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number VanderBeek-001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 May 9 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3.9
Airframe Hours 535.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert Vanderbeek
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8126 S Ridge Rd
Aircraft Owner City Plainfield
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 60544
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 LL51
Departure City Plainfield
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1945
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2002 8:34AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 360
Runway Length 2000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --