Amateur-built Glastar accident near Henefer, Utah, July 30, 2001
On July 30, 2001 at about 6:42 pm local time, a amateur-built Glastar, registered N533WW, was destroyed in an accident near Henefer, Utah. 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 failure to maintain aircraft control for an undetermined reason.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 30, 2001 · about 6:42 pm local time
- Place
- Henefer, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Glastar
- Registration
- N533WW · no longer on the register · serial 5278
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the amateur-built experimental airplane was receiving VFR flight following services when radio and radar contact were lost. The airplane impacted mountainous terrain in a vertical attitude. There was no evidence of airframe, powerplant, propeller, or flight control malfunction/failure. Autopsy was inconclusive and toxicology was not possible. The pilot's son-in-law said that approximately 1 week before the accident, the pilot had complained of shortness of breath.
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: 1,223 hours in all; 87 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 1,028 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 11, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 87 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, December 13, 2000; 87 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,960 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RKS Rock Springs WY
- Destination: ENV Wendover UT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 18 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 18,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.80 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from SLC
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.