NTSB Identification: CEN13FA066
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 21, 2012 in Watkins, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/23/2013
Aircraft: Brian P North RAF SE5A Replica, registration: N17SE
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot had requested to return to the airport for a full stop landing. According to a witness, the airplane appeared to be in a slow, labored climb in an abnormally high pitch attitude about 300 feet above the ground on the downwind leg in the traffic pattern. The airplane then entered a spiral descent while approaching the turn to base and impacted the ground about 0.7 miles north of the runway threshold; a postimpact fire ensued. Examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The slow flight and high pitch followed by a spiral descent are indicative of an aerodynamic stall.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s loss of airplane control and inadvertent stall while attempting to return for landing.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On November 21, 2012, about 1358 mountain standard time, a Brian P. North RAF SE5A replica experimental airplane, N17SE, owned by the pilot, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain near Watkins, Colorado. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight departed Front Range Airport (FTG), Denver, Colorado, about 1355.
While departing from Runway 26 at FTG, witnesses noticed the airplane climbing at a slow rate. On the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, witnesses noticed the airplane attempting to climb with a high pitch attitude. The pilot requested to return for a full stop landing from the air traffic control tower, due to “climb performance”. Witnesses observed the airplane enter a spiral descent while approaching the turn to base point of the pattern. The airplane impacted in a fallowed wheat field about 0.7 miles north of the Runway 26 threshold, and a post impact fire ensued.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 72, held a private pilot (foreign based) certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. On May 3, 1999, the pilot was issued a Class 3 limited medical (foreign based) certificate, which required corrective lenses be worn. A review of records indicates the pilot had flown a total of 491 hours and 7 hours in the accident airplane. A friend of the pilot, who assisted with preflight actions on the day of the accident, stated that the pilot was in good health, both physically and mentally.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The accident airplane was initially assembled by the pilot in the United Kingdom in 2008. After shipping the airplane to the United States and reassembling at FTG, an airworthiness certificate was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on May 17, 2012. Prior to the accident, the airplane flew four times at FTG, twice by the pilot and twice by his friend. The airplane had accumulated a total of 12 hours prior to the accident.
The airplane was equipped with a 100-horsepower Continental Motors O-200A engine. The engine had accumulated 1,523 hours prior to being installed on the airplane and 12 hours after installation.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The weather observing station at FTG reported the following conditions at 1350: wind 140 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 50 miles, clear skies, temperature 22 degrees Celsius, dew point minus 10 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 29.95. Calculated density altitude for these conditions was 7,567 feet.
During the four previous flights at FTG, calculated density altitude ranged from about 6,400 to 6,900 feet. The friend of the pilot, who piloted two of these four flights, stated that climb performance during these previous flights was satisfactory, with a climb rate between 400 and 450 feet per minute.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane impacted in a fallowed wheat field in a near vertical nose down spiral based on witness observations. On impact, the airplane continued to twist, coming to rest upright about 15 feet from the initial impact point, where the airplane caught fire and was destroyed.
Located in the nose impact ground scar were fragmented propeller pieces. Propeller warping and tracking were not able to be examined due to impact damage. Flight control continuity was confirmed to all flight control surfaces.
The engine was examined at a recovery location. The crankshaft was rotated by hand and mechanical continuity was established between the crankshaft and the camshaft; all of the rocker arms were observed to operate. A borescope inspection was performed on all the cylinders, with no signs of distress or abnormalities with any of the cylinder walls, pistons, or valves.
All of the spark plugs were removed from the engine and displayed normal characteristics when compared to Champion Aviation Service Manual AV6-R. The #2 and #4 sparkplugs were oil soaked which was consistent with the orientation of the engine while at rest. It was noted that the #3 cylinder sparkplug electrodes appeared grayer in color when compared to the rest of the sparkplugs.
The carburetor was disassembled and visually inspected; although thermally damaged, no abnormalities were noted. The oil filter was removed and cut open; the internal components sustained thermal damage, but exhibited no signs of metal deposits in the filter pleats. Due to the severity of thermal damage to the magnetos, the magneto internal and magneto engine timing was unable to be determined.
Examination of the airframe, engine and propeller did not reveal any anomalies associated with a pre impact failure or malfunction.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
On November 28, 2012, an autopsy was performed on the pilot by the Adams & Broomfield Counties Coroner. The autopsy noted severe whole body burns and also identified that 3 vessels of the heart had 50% to 60% narrowing, but the heart muscle was unremarkable. The cause of death was attributed to whole body burns. The FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology tests on the pilot. Zopiclone, which is a prescription medication used in the treatment of insomnia, was detected in the urine and also at trace levels in the blood. No other drugs or ethanol were detected.
NTSB Identification: CEN13FA066
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 21, 2012 in Watkins, CO
Aircraft: Brian P North RAF SE5A Replica, registration: N17SE
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 21, 2012, about 1400 mountain standard time, a Brian P. North RAF SE5A replica experimental airplane, N17SE, owned by the pilot, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain near Watkins, Colorado. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight departed Front Range Airport (FTG), Denver, Colorado at about 1355.
While departing from Runway 26 at FTG, witnesses noticed the airplane climbing at a slow rate. The pilot requested to return for a full stop landing from the air traffic control tower. While on downwind in the traffic pattern, a witness saw the airplane enter a spiral descent. The airplane impacted in a fallowed wheat field about 0.7 miles north of the Runway 26 threshold. A post impact fire ensued.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 17SE Make/Model: EXP Description: EXP- SE5A
Date: 11/21/2012 Time: 2058
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
LOCATION
City: WATKINS State: CO Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT FRONT RANGE AIRPORT, WATKINS, CO
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 0 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: DENVER, CO (NM03) Entry date: 11/23/2012
A veteran RAF pilot who died after the biplane he was flying crashed in Colorado has been described by a friend as a "very dedicated family man".
Brian North, 72, from Parker, south of Denver, was flying a scaled down copy of a World War One-era SE 5a when it came down and caught fire near the Front Range Airport in Adams County on Wednesday.
Michael Buehner-Coldrey, who was also in the RAF and had flown the plane on its maiden flight, said: "Brian was a very good friend of mine, a clever guy, good with his hands.
"He left school at 15 and had a 35-year career in the RAF. He did an apprenticeship at RAF Halton near Aylesbury, and went on to become a wing commander, specializing in engineering, and travelled around working on Harriers.
"He received the MBE from the Queen for his services, and not many people have that.
"After retiring from the RAF, he worked for 10 years as an immigration officer at Heathrow."
Mr Buehner-Coldrey, from Aurora, Colorado, said Mr North had moved to the United States with his wife Adrienne "three or four years ago".
He said the couple had a daughter and a son and had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
"He was a very dedicated family man and very modest, with a dry sense of humour," the 67-year-old said.
Mr Buehner-Coldrey described the circumstances surrounding the crash as a "mystery" and said the plane, which used parts shipped from England and was only finished last month, had been in "perfect flying order".
"It was an absolutely beautiful day, there was no problem with the weather," he added. "It had to be something between man and machine."
Mr North had called the control tower on Wednesday afternoon and got clearance to perform a touch-and-go landing but then suddenly requested a normal landing.
He was heading for the runway but crashed about a mile north of it.
Dennis Heap, an airport official, said: "He was flying in a pattern one moment and down on the ground - crashed - the next moment. As far as I know there were no witnesses."
The crash will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
http://web.orange.co.uk
WATKINS, Colo. — The pilot of a small plane was killed when the aircraft crashed at Front Range Airport in Adams County Wednesday.
Airport spokesman Dennis Heap said the plane exploded when it went down about 500 feet from a runway.
The pilot was identified as retired wing commander Brian North. He was a veteran British pilot and member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Heap said the plane was practicing landing and take-offs called touch-and-gos when it crashed. The weather was good at the time, he said. “The tower got a call and it was garbled which would indicate there was maybe some electrical problem.”
North, who was in his 70s, had been rebuilding his plane for years. It was a replica of a “Gypsy Moth,” a model first built in the 1920s and flown during the two world wars.
Heap says North just started flying the plane about a month ago.
The cause of the crash won’t be clear until the NTSB completes its investigation.
“A deep loss for his family, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them,” Heap says. “But also a deep loss for the aviation community.”
Read more: http://kwgn.com
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. - A small plane crashed and burned at Front Range Airport Wednesday afternoon, killing the pilot.
Airport officials said the plane went down just off Runway 26 around 2 p.m. and burst into flames upon impact.
The plane appeared to be completely burned.
The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash, which happened just after the plane took off.
The pilot had requested to to "touch-and-go" landings and takeoffs at the airport, officials said. The tower also received a second, garbled, transmission before the crash, said Dennis Heap, Aviation Director at the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a replica of an RAF SE5a, a World War I-era British warplane.
Front Range Airport is located in Adams County, southeast of Denver International Airport, at 6500 Manila Rd.
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