Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grafton, Illinois 62037
Thursday, January 9, 2003 12:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The experimental amateur homebuilt airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain. The pilot was fatally injured. A witness said that the pilot said he was leaving for Kansas City ,Missouri . Another witness said that the accident flight's takeoff was approximately 1130 on January 9, 2003. On January 25, 2003, a missing persons report was filed. The airplane's route of flight was searched by air and ground teams. The searching did not find the wreckage and on February 19, 2003, the mission was suspended. On July 30, 2003, the wreckage was found. Weather along a direct route of flight was VFR. Due to the damage the airplane sustained, pre-impact anomalies were unable to be determined. Decomposition of the body precluded a Final Forensic Toxicology Accident Report. The accident site was along a direct route of flight. The Civil Air Patrol Incident Commander stated that their search was hampered because of the time lapse between his departure and the report that he was overdue.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Undetermined.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/9/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Grafton
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62037
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 385824N
Event Location Longitude 0902740W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
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 1254 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 160
Weather Observation Facility ID SET
Elevation of weather observation facility 439
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 19
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 27
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.77
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report Latitude:, 38° 56' Longitude:, -90° 26' Station
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15283
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 30 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1915
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2004 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Springfield, IL, FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N113YE
NTSB Number CHI03LA236
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 Polsgrove
Aircraft Model Bluegrass Express
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 099A
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 29 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Joseph S. Polsgrove
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1700 Old Paris Road
Aircraft Owner City Lexington
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 40505
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 27K
Departure City GEORGETOWN
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MKC
Destination City KANSAS CITY
Destination State MO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Unknown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2004 4:46PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --