Amateur-built VARI-EZE accident near Little Rock Afb, Arkansas, January 19, 1988
On January 19, 1988, a amateur-built VARI-EZE, registered N748BC, was destroyed in an accident near Little Rock Afb, Arkansas. 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 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
- January 19, 1988
- Place
- Little Rock Afb, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VARI-EZE
- Registration
- N748BC · registry record · serial 2203
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PILOT RECEIVED A WX BRIEFING AND WAS TOLD VFR WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. THE PILOT DID NOT FILE A FLIGHT PLAN AND FLEW AN AIRCRAFT NOT EQUIPPED FOR IFR INTO WEATHER WITH 100-FEET OBSCURED CEILING AND .3 MILE VISIBILITY. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO THE GROUND AT A PITCH ATTITUDE OF 60-DEGREES NOSE DOWN.
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: 500 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental 65 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: I42 Pooli IN
- Destination: M99 Benton AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 060° at 9 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from LIT, 10 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.