Amateur-built E-RACER accident near Sugar Grove, Illinois, September 12, 2000
On September 12, 2000 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built E-RACER, registered N345JM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sugar Grove, Illinois (Aurora Municipal Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 owner/builder's inadequate modification to the engine air intake system and the inadvertent engine shutdown. Factors included the low air pressure of the air intake system and the excessive fuel flow to the manifold.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 2000 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sugar Grove, Illinois · Aurora Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built E-RACER
- Registration
- N345JM · registry record · serial 113
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported he was performing a test flight to test the cylinder head cooling ducts. On the left base to final approach to runway 33 at ARR, the airplane had a total loss of power. The pilot reported, "... because of altitude and time, a emergency landing was made to a bean field 1/2 to 1/4 mile from RW 33." The pilot reported he had extended the turn to base due to traffic in the landing pattern. The pilot reported that he had modified the airplane with a relief pressure valve in the air intake so that supercharged air could be vented prior to the fuel servo when the engine was at idle. The pilot reported that on the accident flight the engine was flooded with fuel when the throttle was pulled back to idle. The engine quit and a forced landing was executed.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 191 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 67 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 14, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ARR at 9:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 156°F (69°C), dew point 111°F (44°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:10 pm from ARR
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.
Other NTSB records under N345JM the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.