Rutan VARIEZE N112EZ

Summary

On 8 July 2019 at about 21:00 local time, a Rutan VARIEZE registered N112EZ was involved in an accident near Kaneville, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2019 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Kaneville, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Aurora Muni (ARR)

Coordinates

41.8686, -88.5797

Aircraft

Rutan VARIEZE

Registration

N112EZ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chicago/Waukegan → Chicago/Aurora

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA216

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat while operating at low power settings in conditions conducive to the development of carburetor ice, and the subsequent total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot of the experimental airplane reported that he was unable to enter the destination airport airspace, so he remained outside of the airspace at a reduced power setting. After adjusting the mixture control, the engine experienced a complete loss of power and the propeller stopped rotating. About 1,600 ft above ground level (agl), the pilot initiated a steep dive to increase airspeed and attempt to get the propeller to windmill and the engine to restart; however, the propeller would not rotate, so he pulled out of the dive about 300 ft agl and aligned with traffic on an interstate for a forced landing. During the landing, the right wing contacted a truck and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident engine test run revealed no anomalies, and the test was unable to determine why the propeller would not windmill above the published speed. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of carburetor icing at glide and cruise power settings. The pilot did not use the carburetor heat during the reduced engine power operation; therefore, it is likely that the carburetor accumulated ice, which resulted in the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.