Amateur-built Variez O-235 accident near Pinson, Alabama, March 31, 2001
On March 31, 2001 at about 3:40 pm local time, a amateur-built Variez O-235, registered N49LK, was destroyed in an accident near Pinson, Alabama. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions resulting in the airplane colliding with mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 31, 2001 · about 3:40 pm local time
- Place
- Pinson, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Variez O-235
- Registration
- N49LK · no longer on the register · serial 376
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight departed Tuscaloosa, Alabama, enroute to Gadsden, Alabama. When the flight did not arrive, search and rescue operations were initiated. The airplane wreckage was located on April 6, 2001, at about the 1,000 foot msl level, on the west side of Village Mountain, near Pinson, Alabama. Examination of the crash site showed the airplane had flown from a valley, easterly, into rising terrain. The airplane crashed into trees while in cruise flight and came to rest about 100 feet from the top of the mountain. All components of the airplane were located at the crash site. Post crash examination of the aircraft structure, flight controls, engine, and propeller, showed no evidence of precrash failure or malfunction. The Birmingham International Airport surface observation taken about 13 minutes after the accident was clouds 500 feet overcast with visibility 3 miles in drizzle. Birmingham is located 15 statute miles south-southeast of the accident site, at an elevation of 636 feet msl. The person who lives in the residence adjacent to the accident site reported that on the day of the accident the clouds obscured the mountain and visibility was low all day. The FAA had no record that the pilot had received a weather briefing from an FAA facility.
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: 832 hours in all; 606 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 731 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 13, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 606 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,050 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TCL Tuscaloosa AL at 3:10 pm
- Destination: GAD Gadsden AL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from BHM, 15 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.