Amateur-built WAG-AERO 2+2 accident near Hurricane, Utah, May 24, 1998
On May 24, 1998 at about 4:07 pm local time, a amateur-built WAG-AERO 2+2, registered N6272A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hurricane, Utah (Hurricane airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An encounter with high vegetation and unsuitable terrain during a forced landing. A factor was a partial failure of the engine's exhaust stack during flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 24, 1998 · about 4:07 pm local time
- Place
- Hurricane, Utah · Hurricane · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built WAG-AERO 2+2 WAG-AERO 2
- Registration
- N6272A · registry record · serial 246
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings. While on downwind, the engine began to run rough, and smoke entered the cabin from underneath the instrument panel. He turned off the electrical system, then executed a forced landing in an unplowed wheat field. Upon touchdown, the landing gear became entangled with wheat, causing the aircraft to nose over. Postaccident examination of the aircraft's engine revealed that the exhaust stack had fractured, allowing exhaust gases to envelope a fuel line.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 763 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 50 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 18, 1997; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1L8 Hurricane UT at 4:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from SGU, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW98LA241.