Amateur-built VOLKSPLANE accident near Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, August 31, 1983
On August 31, 1983 at about 9:00 pm local time, a amateur-built VOLKSPLANE, registered N4244R, was destroyed in an accident near Cottage Grove, Wisconsin (Flying Hoof airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 31, 1983 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cottage Grove, Wisconsin · Flying Hoof · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VOLKSPLANE
- Registration
- N4244R · no longer on the register · serial 22
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE OWNER OF THE NEW HOME BUILT ACFT HAD GIVEN THE PLT PERMISSION TO TAXI THE PLANE, BUT NOT TO TAKEOFF. THE PLT STATED THAT HE INADVERTENTLY BECAME AIRBORNE WHILE MAKING A HIGH SPEED TAXI CHECK, THEN THE ENG LOST POWER. A WITNESS STATED THAT THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE WHEN IT WAS APRX HALF WAY DOWN THE RWY, THEN IT CLIMBED ABOUT 30 FT, TRAVELED APRX 250 FT OFF THE END OF THE RWY & BEGAN LOSING ALTITUDE. THE PLT INITIATED A LEFT TURN & CRASHED IN AN OPEN FIELD. THE ACFT HAD NO PREVIOUS FLT TIME & THE PLT HAD NO PREVIOUS FLT TIME IN THE MAKE & MODEL. DURING THE INVESTIGATION, THE PLT & OWNER COULD NOT BE CONTACTED TO VERIFY THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE REPORTED ENG FAILURES.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 34,555 hours in all; 5 in the last 90 days; 33,355 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, July 13, 1983
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen 1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 2,650 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:00 pm from MKE, 45 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.