Langerud VARIEZE accident near Zenia, CA

On March 2, 1993, a Langerud VARIEZE (airplane) was involved in an accident near Zenia, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

March 2, 1993

Place

Zenia, CA

Aircraft

Langerud VARIEZE · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

39.181°N, 120.979°W

NTSB ID

20001211X12007

NTSB summary

History of the Flight On March 1, 1993, at about 1758 hours Pacific standard time, an amateur built Langerud Varieze airplane, N91CL, collided with some trees after encountering instrument meteorological conditions about 10 miles northwest of Zenia, California. The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules (vfr) personal flight to Hayward, California, and he did not file a flight plan. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated at Roseburg Municipal Airport (RBG), Roseburg, Oregon, at about 1600 hours. Search and Rescue personnel found the wreckage on March 12, 1993, at 0945 hours. The registered owner told Mr. Pete Wilhelmson, airworthiness inspector, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Sacramento [California] Flight Standards District Office, that the pilot purchased the airplane on the accident date. The pilot only performed two or three high speed taxi runs before departing on the accident flight. At 1040 hours, the pilot contacted the McMinnville [Oregon] Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) and requested and received a weather briefing from Roseburg, Oregon, to Hayward, California. The AFSS specialist provided the pilot with the current and forecasted weather which indicated that visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The cloud bases along the pilot's intended route of flight varied between 4,500 feet to 7,500 feet msl along the northern route of the flight; the cloud bases varied between 2,500 msl feet to clear conditions along the souther

Probable cause

THE PILOT'S POOR WEATHER EVALUATION AND CONTINUED FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THE LOW CEILING WAS A FACTOR.

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.