Amateur-built VARIEZE accident near Palo Alto, California, December 13, 1988
On December 13, 1988 at about 4:54 pm local time, a amateur-built VARIEZE, registered N226RB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palo Alto, California (Palo Alto airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- December 13, 1988 · about 4:54 pm local time
- Place
- Palo Alto, California · Palo Alto · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VARIEZE
- Registration
- N226RB · no longer on the register · serial 2120
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED 200 FT SHORT OF THE RWY IN A POND AND NOSED OVER. WITNESSES HEARD THE SOUNDS OF LOW POWER. EVIDENCE OF LOW/NO POWER WAS SHOWN BY THE PROP. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT UNAPPROVED ENGINE MODS WERE MADE BY PILOT/OWNER. AN UNTESTED CARB HEAT SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED. THE CONTROL CABLE SYSTEM WAS NOT PROPERLY MOUNTED IN THE COCKPIT; IT WAS LOOSE NEAR THE CONTROL STICK WITH NO VISIBLE MEANS OF BEING HELD IN THE CARB HEAT ON POSITION. ADDITIONALLY, THE CARB HEAT AIR DUCT, MOUNTED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE NO.4 EXHAUST PIPE, HAD NO PROVISIONS ON THE INLET OF THE DUCT TO CONCENTRATE HEATED AIR FOR PREVENTION OF CARBURETOR ICE. CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO CARBURETOR ICING EXISTED.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,000 hours in all; 1,627 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,627 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Swansboro CA
- Destination: PAO Palo Alto CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 2,500 ft by 65 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.