Amherst, VA, USA
N417JN
North Wing Scout X-C
A witness observed the weight-shift aircraft approach her location and descend toward a nearby pasture. Shortly thereafter, the engine "revved up" and the aircraft pitched up at a steep angle. The aircraft began to make a tight spiral turn and continued until the nose pitched down, consistent with entering a stall/spin, before impacting the ground and erupting into flames. A postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any mechanical anomalies with the airframe or engine. The aircraft was equipped with dual flight controls, and a throttle control was located on the foot rest for the aft passenger. The pilot was seated in the front seat and the passenger was seated in the aft seat. The passenger had access to the throttle control located near his foot rest, in addition to the flight controls, and it is possible he manipulated the throttle inadvertently although the investigation was unable to definitively determine if this occurred.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 21, 2010, at 1849 eastern daylight time, a special light sport aircraft, weight-shift-control, North Wing UUM Incorporated, Scout X-C, N417JN, registered to and operated by a private individual, crashed in a pasture near Amherst, Virginia. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The certificated commercial pilot and passenger were killed and the aircraft was destroyed by a postcrash fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight departed from a private airstrip in Amherst, Virginia about 1755. According to a witness at the private airstrip the aircraft departed about one hour prior to the accident. He recalled that the pilot had refueled the aircraft the previous day, but was unsure how much fuel was onboard for the flight. Another witness, located approximately 400 feet from the accident site stated that she was outside of her home when she watched the aircraft approach and noted that it was about 150 feet above ground as it flew over her home. At the time, the engine was running and made a "popping" noise. It then appeared that the aircraft was descending to land in the pasture. The engine subsequently revved-up and the aircraft pitched up at a steep angle. The aircraft began to make a tight spiral turn to the right and continued until it pitched downward. The aircraft made one complete downward spiral before impacting the ground. As the aircraft collided with the ground, it erupted into flames. She noted that at the time of impact, the engine was running at "full speed." PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 77, held a commercial pilot certificate, with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. The pilot's last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical examination was issued on February 16, 2004, for a third-class medical certificate. The pilot reported 2,500 flight hours on his last medical application. The pilot’s logbooks were destroyed in the post-crash fire, and a determination of his total flight hours and last flight review could not be verified. A witness stated that the pilot had recently purchased the aircraft and had amassed approximately 20 hours of flight time in it. He opined that the pilot was very experienced in this type of aircraft, and had over 250 flight hours in this make and model. The pilot’s son stated that his father was healthy. He thought his father was a very experienced pilot and that had flown his newly acquired weight-shift aircraft almost every day. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The tandem two seat, weight-shift-control, fixed suspension gear airplane, serial number LS9007, was manufactured in 2010. A Rotax 912UL, 80-horespower horizontally opposed four cylinder-four cycle engine powered the aircraft, and it was equipped with a three-bladed Aerolux composite propeller. The aircraft logbooks were located at the wreckage site, and were fire damaged and unreadable. The tachometer was digital and no data could be obtained due to damage sustained by the postcrash fire. During the postaccident examination, it was noted that the pilot was seated in the front seat and the passenger was seated in the aft seat. The aircraft was equipped with dual flight controls for the purpose of flight instruction. The flight controls were positioned for operation from the aft seat. The flight controls are removable, but were attached during the accident flight. The throttle control was not removable and was positioned on the aft right foot rest. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION A review of recorded data from the Lynchburg, Virginia, (LYH) automated weather observation station revealed that several minutes after the accident, conditions were calm wind, visibility of 10 miles, cloud conditions few at 8,000 feet above ground level, temperature 31 degrees Celsius, dew point 19 degrees Celsius, altimeter 29.87 inches of mercury. LYH is located about 23 miles northwest of the accident site. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION Examination of the aircraft revealed that it collided with a pasture, off of a residential road, 3 miles from the private airstrip that it departed from. The debris path was on a 030-degree magnetic course. The aircraft was facing 150-degrees. Examination of the debris path revealed that the first impact mark was on the right side of the debris line. This impact mark left a scar-line in the earth approximately 10 feet long, and ended with a small crater. There were three other craters that were parallel, extending to the opposite side of the debris line. The craters measured 75 inches apart. The center crater was approximately 6 inches deep, and 2 feet in diameter. There were four propeller strikes behind it, and the strikes measured approximately 12 to 15 inches in length, and were approximately 2 to 3 inches deep. The debris path extended 37 feet from the center crater to the main wreckage. The examination of the aircraft revealed that the fiberglass hull was fragmented throughout the debris path. The electronic avionics panel was destroyed by fire. The fuel gauge and airspeed indicators were analog, and were also destroyed by fire. The front and back seat cushions and seat back supports were melted. The rear seat was mounted on top of the fuel tank, and the fuel tank was melted. The fuel filler was located along the debris path. The dual steering bar was located in the wreckage and the throttle linkage was still attached to the bar. The base tube was buckled and fire damaged. Examination of the front steering assembly revealed that it was still attached to the base tube. The nose wheel tire was melted off of the rim assembly. The base tube displayed heavy fire damage, and was melted at the attachment point of the back frame. The back frame was fire damaged, but remained attached to the engine assembly. Examination of the landing gear suspension system revealed it was heavily fire damaged. The right landing gear suspension system was broken at the base tube attachment point. The right wheel assembly was located approximately 15 feet forward of the main wreckage on the right side of the debris line and was impact damaged. The left landing gear suspension system was heavily fire damaged, and remained attached to the base frame. The left wheel assembly remained attached to the landing gear suspension system and was heavily fire damaged. Examination of the dual mast revealed that it was bent forward towards the nose wheel assembly. The hang pivot block assembly remained attached to the dual mast. Examination of the wing frame components revealed that the wing keel was impact and fire damaged. Examination of the wing keel revealed it remained attached to the hang pivot block assembly and the dual mast. The crossbar tensioning cable attachment was connected to the crossbar junction. The crossbars were melted and damaged. The left and right crossbars were still attached at the junctions to the leading edge tubes. The front and rear flying wires/cables were connected to the down tubes and control frame brackets. Examination of the left wing control bar down tube revealed that it was buckled throughout the span of the bar. The bar junction assemblies were attached to the wing and the control bar. The instructor bar was broken from the down tube and connected to the control bar. The strut bar assembly was fire damaged and attached to the wing junction and the control bar junction. The wing fabric was melted off of the wing ribs, and the fabric clips were melted. The leading edge tube was bent forward approximately 2 feet inboard of the strut junction, and was buckled throughout the span of the tube assembly. Examination of the right wing control bar down tube revealed that it was melted and buckled and melted mid-span of the bar. The bar junction assemblies were attached to the wing and the control bar. The instructor bar was melted and a portion of it was connected to the control bar. The strut bar assembly was fire damaged and attached to the wing junction and the control bar junction. The wing fabric was melted off of the wing ribs, and the fabric clips were melted. The leading edge tube was buckled throughout the span of the tube assembly. Examination of the engine revealed that rotation was not able to be accomplished due to fire and impact damage. The engine was partially disassembled for examination. During the examination, it was noted that the fuel lines were fire damaged and broken away from the right side carburetor. The fuel lines remained attached to the left side carburetor, and also exhibited signs of fire damaged. A single line remained attached to the mechanical fuel pump. A second fuel return line on the pump was broken away. The fuel pump was impact damaged and broken away from the engine assembly. Examination of the oil reservoir revealed that there was an undetermined amount of oil remaining in the reservoir. The oil lines leading from the reservoir were fire damaged. The left side carburetor remained attached to the intake manifold. The throttle cable and choke cable were attached to the carburetor. Cable continuity was traced to the throttle control levers. The carburetor bowl was removed and did not contain any corrosion or debris. The bowl had the odor of gasoline. The right side carburetor was impact damaged and broken away from the intake manifold. The intake manifold was broken away from the engine assembly. The throttle cable was still attached to the carburetor. The choke cable was broken away from the carburetor and was attached to the lever. The carburetor bowl was melted away from the carburetor. The electronic ignition system components were melted on the accessory section and impact damaged. The right side upper spark plug wires were melted. The upper spark plugs were removed and exhibited signs of normal wear. The right side lower plugs were impact damaged and were unable to be removed due to the exhaust manifold being pressed against the plugs. The left side upper and lower spark plugs were removed and exhibited signs of normal wear. Examination of the three-bladed propeller assembly revealed that the propeller hub remained attached to the engine assembly. One blade remained attached to the hub. The other two blades were shattered and along the debris path. Both broken blades were broken at the propeller hub. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION An autopsy was performed on the pilot on August 23, 2010, by the Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Roanoke, Virginia, as authorized by the Amherst County Coroner. The autopsy findings included "blunt force injuries," and the report listed the specific injuries. Forensic toxicology was performed on specimens from the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Review of the toxicology report revealed: 62 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Muscle NO ETHANOL detected in Brain 1 (mg/dL, mg/hg) METHANOL detected in Muscle 1 (mg/dL, mg/hg) METHANOL detected in Brain 2 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-BUTANOL detected in Muscle 4 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-PROPANOL detected in Muscle The toxicology report stated that the ethanol found was from postmortem ethanol formation and not from the ingestion of ethanol. An autopsy was performed on the passenger on August 24, 2010, by the Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Roanoke, Virginia, as authorized by the Amherst County Coroner. The autopsy findings included "blunt force injuries," and the report listed the specific injuries. Forensic toxicology was performed on specimens from the passenger by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The toxicology report stated no ethanol was detected in the liver or the muscle, and no drugs were detected in the liver. TESTS AND RESEARCH A hand-portable Lowrance Airmap 2000c global positioning system (GPS) receiver was recovered in the wreckage and retained for further examination by the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC. Data was successfully downloaded from the unit; however, the make and model GPS unit did not record time or altitude, only position track points. The track points depicted the entire recorded flight. The Lowrance Airmap 2000c stores data in volatile memory during updates, and flushes this data periodically to flash memory during recording, and when the device is shut down normally using the power key. The data recovered by the unit only showed the track log history, and did not depict time or altitude.
The pilot's loss of aircraft control for an undetermined reason.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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