Amateur-built BREEZY accident near Janesville, Wisconsin, August 27, 1999
On August 27, 1999 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built BREEZY, registered N12BZ, was destroyed in an accident near Janesville, Wisconsin (Rock County 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 inadvertent stall. A factor relating to this accident was the pilot's excessive climb rate.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 27, 1999 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Janesville, Wisconsin · Rock County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BREEZY
- Registration
- N12BZ · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was cleared for takeoff on runway 31 at the Rock County Airport, Janesville, Wisconsin. The manager of the Air Traffic Control Tower said he watched the airplane get airborne just prior to taxiway 'alpha', approximately 2,000 feet down the runway. The airplane climbed out at a 45 degree nose-high pitch attitude. Approximately 100 feet over the intersection of runway 22 and runway 31, the airplane began a left turn. The airplane then turned to the right, 'fishtailed', and 'porpoised' several times. The airplane's nose remained at a high pitch angle the whole time. The airplane began another right turn, but then nosed straight down, hitting the ground. A witness on the ground said that the airplane 'got off in a very short distance, in a ridiculously steep pitch angle.' The airplane started a left turn in a nose-high attitude. The airplane settled, the nose went high, and then the airplane 'fell off to the right into a right-hand spin.' Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 278 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 12, 1999; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,820 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JVL at 8:00 pm
- Destination: 44C Beloit WI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 5,396 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from JVL, 1 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.