Amateur-built Rutan Defiant accident near Bloomfield, Indiana, September 7, 2005
On September 7, 2005 at about 9:25 pm local time, a amateur-built Rutan Defiant, registered N219DF, was destroyed in an accident near Bloomfield, Indiana (Shawnee Field Airport). 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's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in the airplane overrunning the end of the runway during the aborted takeoff. A factor to the accident was the pilot's lack of familiarity with the airplane and the corn crop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 7, 2005 · about 9:25 pm local time
- Place
- Bloomfield, Indiana · Shawnee Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Rutan Defiant
- Registration
- N219DF · no longer on the register · serial 039
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amateur-built airplane overran the end of the runway during an aborted takeoff attempt and subsequently nosed over in a corn field. The airplane was destroyed during a post accident ground fire. The pilot died three days after the accident. Witnesses to the accident reported that the pilot performed a high-speed taxi on the runway prior to attempting a takeoff run. One witness reported that he advised the pilot "to use the grass before the threshold for max takeoff length." Witnesses reported that the airplane overran the end of the runway during a subsequent takeoff attempt. A witness reported that the pilot had evacuated himself from the wreckage and told him that he "couldn't get [the airplane] off the ground." The combined distance to accelerate to rotation speed and then stop was 2,820 feet and 3,960 feet for gross weights of 2,500 and 3,000 lbs, respectively. The runway (2,160 feet by 150 feet, turf) had a 485 foot stopway after the departure threshold. The wreckage was found 222 feet past the end of the stopway and 2,867 feet from the beginning of the runway. According to the Rutan Defiant owner's manual, the airplane was a heavy wing-loading aircraft that required longer runways than typical general-aviation twin engine airplanes. The pilot had flown less than 50 hours as pilot-in-command in the accident airplane. No discrepancies were noted that could be associated with any pre-impact condition or malfunction during the post accident examination.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,347 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 750 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2005; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1I3 Bloomfield IN at 9:25 pm
- Destination: 1I3 Bloomfield IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,160 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from BMG, 19 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 N219DF 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.