Amateur-built VERI-EZE accident near Enterprise, Alabama, May 21, 1999
On May 21, 1999, a amateur-built VERI-EZE, registered N80SH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Enterprise, Alabama (Enterprise airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to remove covers from the fuel tank vent which resulted in fuel starvation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 21, 1999
- Place
- Enterprise, Alabama · Enterprise · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VERI-EZE
- Registration
- N80SH · registry record · serial 399
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he had forgotten to remove the fuel vent cover during his preflight inspection. Shortly after takeoff the engine lost power and the airplane collided with the ground during a forced landing. Damage consisted of the nose gear, propeller and vertical stabilizer. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,860 hours in all; 66 in this make and model; 3,584 as pilot in command; 1,330 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 625 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 19, 1999; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,050 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EDN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from ANB, 138 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.