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Accidents · NTSB CHI83FA024 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Amateur-built VARI-EZE accident near Seymour, Indiana, October 23, 1982

On October 23, 1982 at about 4:55 pm local time, a amateur-built VARI-EZE, registered N122EF, was destroyed in an accident near Seymour, Indiana (Freeman Muni 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
October 23, 1982 · about 4:55 pm local time · cases in 1982
Place
Seymour, Indiana · Freeman Muni · cases near this airport · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was killed.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Amateur-built VARI-EZE
Registration
N122EF · registry record · serial 528
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

AIRCRAFT WAS BEING TAXI TESTED WHEN IT BECAME AIRBORNE AND FLEW A FAST, LOW TENTATIVE PATTERN. TURNING FINAL THE TURN WAS VERY STEEP AND AIRCRAFT DESCENDED TO GROUND IMPACTING A TREE PRIOR TO GROUND IMPACT. THE PILOT HAD NO RECORDED FLIGHT TIME IN THIS AIRCRAFT WHICH IS VERY SENSITIVE TO CONTROL INPUTS.

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: 775 hours in all; 7 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 686 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: unk

The aircraft

  • Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 975 lb
  • Seats: 2
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Continental A65 (piston); 0 hours total
  • Fire on the ground

The flight

  • Departed from: SER Seymour IN at 11:50 am
  • Destination: SER Seymour IN
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 9, 4,100 ft by 150 ft

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Wind: from 045° at 10 knots
  • Visibility: 15 statute miles
  • Sky: not recorded; clear
  • Temperature: 122°F (50°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.

Connections how this case links to the rest of the register

Aircraft
Place
Analytics

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI83FA024.json.

The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.

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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.