Amateur-built KR-2 accident near Pekin, Illinois, August 23, 1994
On August 23, 1994 at about 3:40 pm local time, a amateur-built KR-2, registered N121CW, was destroyed in an accident near Pekin, Illinois (Pekin Municipal Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
Aircraft control not maintained by the pilot and the subsequent stall. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 1994 · about 3:40 pm local time
- Place
- Pekin, Illinois · Pekin Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KR-2
- Registration
- N121CW · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED TO ABOUT 400 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THEY SAID THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP AND YAWED TO THE RIGHT, DESCENDING VERTICALLY AS IT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. ONE OF THE WITNESSES SAID THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO DO A RIGHT-HAND SPIRAL BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE GROUND. THE ON-SCENE INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO FAILURE OF THE CONTROL SYSTEM. THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A MECHANICALLY ACTIVATED LANDING GEAR RETRACTION SYSTEM. IT WAS ACTIVATED BY THE PILOT PUSHING A LEVER MECHANISM FORWARD AND LOCKING IT WHEN THE LEVER WAS PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR. THE FLIGHT CONTROL STICK AND RETRACTION LEVER WERE LOCATED DIRECTLY OPPOSITE EACH OTHER ON THE AIRPLANE'S MAIN WING SPAR. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN ABOUT 7 HOURS IN 1994. ALL OF IT BEING IN THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. DURING 1993, THE PILOT HAD FLOWN A TOTAL OF 1.4 HOURS IN A CESSNA 152.
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, foreign licence, private, student
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: airship
- Flight time: 777 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 674 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 10, 1994; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Hapi 60-2DM (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C15 at 3:40 pm
- Destination: C15 IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 3:40 pm from C15
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 N121CW 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.