Amateur-built Starduster SA-100 accident near Millstadt, Illinois, October 21, 2001
On October 21, 2001 at about 5:10 pm local time, a amateur-built Starduster SA-100, registered N64HW, was destroyed in an accident near Millstadt, Illinois. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot not maintaining altitude/clearance from the tree line. Factors to the accident were the pilot attempting the low altitude flight/maneuver and the presence of the tree line.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 21, 2001 · about 5:10 pm local time
- Place
- Millstadt, Illinois · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Starduster SA-100
- Registration
- N64HW · no longer on the register · serial HW101
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to witnesses to the accident, the airplane was maneuvering at a low altitude over their residence at the time of accident. The witnesses reported that the airplane was turning back towards their position when it impacted the top of a tree and subsequently impacted the terrain. One witness reported that the airplane's engine had "normal" power prior to the impact with the tree line. There was a debris field, approximately 125 feet long by 50 feet wide, which was orientated on an easterly heading. At the western edge of the debris field, approximately 125 feet from the tree line, there was a ground-impact and fragmented portions of tree material. The aircraft wreckage was located approximately 100 feet from the initial ground impact and was facing west. The entire airplane was exposed to varying degrees of fire damage. The fabric covering of the fuselage and tail surfaces were completely burned. The entire wing was consumed in the post-impact fire. The engine, cowling structure, and propeller were damaged by fire. No mechanical anomalies were found with the airplane or its flight control systems. At the pilot's last medical examination he reported that he had accumulated a total flight time of 1,500 hours.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,290 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,400 ft; scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 5:15 pm from CPS, 7 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.
Other NTSB records under N64HW 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.