Amateur-built VANCRAFT accident near Pocatello, Idaho, October 17, 1987
On October 17, 1987 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built VANCRAFT, registered N49694, was destroyed in an accident near Pocatello, Idaho (Pocatello Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- October 17, 1987 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Pocatello, Idaho · Pocatello Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANCRAFT
- Registration
- N49694 · no longer on the register · serial 519489457
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE EXPERIMENTAL GYROCOPTER WAS ON A TEST FLIGHT WHEN THE RIGHT RUDDER PEDAL PIVOT BOLT BROKE. THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN A SPIRAL IN A COUNTER-CLOCKWISE DIRECTION WITH THE RUDDER SEPARATING FROM THE AIRCRAFT AT THE HINGE POINTS. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO SPIRAL TO THE GROUND TO IMPACT.
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
- Flight time: 280 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 236 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 1, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 1,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen 2200CC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from PIH, 2 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.