Amateur-built QAC-1 accident near Mojave, California, July 2, 1982
On July 2, 1982 at about 3:45 pm local time, a amateur-built QAC-1, registered N82X, was destroyed in an accident near Mojave, California (Mojave 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
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
- July 2, 1982 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Mojave, California · Mojave · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built QAC-1
- Registration
- N82X · no longer on the register · serial 0001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS BUILT AS A ONE-TIME ONLY ACFT FOR RECORD BREAKING DISTANCE FLYING, PRESUMABLY FOR AN AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT WITHOUT REFUELING. IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PLT RADIOED THE CHASE PLANE THAT HE HAD SOME MINOR PROBLEM & WAS GOING TO LAND. AFTER TURNING FINAL THE PLT REPORTED "SOMETHING BROKE, I'M GOING IN..." THE ACFT CRASHED AT A SLIGHT NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE 1/2 MI FROM THE END OF THE RWY. CONTINUITY OF FLIGHT CONTROL WAS ESTABLISHED & NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT FLIGHT CONTROL WAS EVIDENT. THERE WERE NO DRAWINGS OR DATA AVAILABLE FOR THE DESIGN OF THE ACFT. THE FUSELAGE & EMPENNAGE REPORTEDLY HAD NOT BEEN STATIC TESTED. A BREAK AT THE REAR OF THE COCKPIT APPEARED TO BE IN AN AREA OF POOR DESIGN. THE COMPOSITE STRUCTURE BEHIND THE COCKPIT RAILS LOOKED QUESTIONABLE IN ITS CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA TO HANDLE THE BENDING LOADS IN THIS AREA. AN IN FLIGHT SEPARATION OF THE FUSELAGE AT THE REAR OF THE COCKPUT BY AS MUCH AS 1 INCH WOULD HAVE PLACED THE STABILIZER IN A 3 DEG NOSE UP ANGLE RENDERING THE ELEVATOR INSUFFICIENT TO HOLD THE NOSE UP.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,598 hours in all; 46 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 1,468 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 45 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,250 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Franklin P2L (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Quickie Aircraft CORP.
The flight
- Departed from: Mojave CA at 8:40 am
- Destination: Mojave CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 9,610 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 167°F (75°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.