14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, March 29, 2014 in Highlands Ranch, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/23/2014
Aircraft: WORTHINGTON DONALD WAYNE SONERAI II LT, registration: N63917
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.
On the morning of the accident, the pilot terminated his first flight early due to a fuel leak in the fuel tank sight gauge. The pilot made a repair before taking off for a second flight. During the second flight, witnesses reported seeing the airplane in distress and hearing the engine sputtering as it approached an open field. The airplane overflew a set of power lines before rolling and impacting terrain, consistent with the pilot reducing the airspeed in an attempt to clear the power lines during a forced landing and subsequently stalling the airplane. The majority of the airplane fuselage and cockpit were consumed by a postimpact fire. Flight control continuity was verified from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. Examination of the fuel system and engine were limited due to the fire damage, and a reason for the apparent loss of engine power could not be determined.
The pilot hadn’t flown in 10 years and had recently purchased the airplane. The pilot logged one flight with an instructor about 2 months before the accident, and he had not logged experience in the airplane type before the day of the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s loss of control during a forced landing following a loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined due to postimpact fire damage.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On March 29, 2014, about 1440 mountain daylight time, a Worthington Sonerai 11L experimental airplane, N63917, crashed near Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The private pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which was not operated on a flight plan.
The pilot purchased the airplane in November, 2013. The pilot's first flight in the airplane occurred the morning of the accident. The pilot told a family member that the first flight had terminated early due to a leak in the fuel sight gauge. The pilot made a repair to the airplane and took off for a second flight. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane "struggling to stay airborne," and that the engine was running roughly as the airplane approached an open field. The airplane was observed to cross over a set of power lines, roll to the left, and descend into the ground. A post-impact fire ensued.
Clear tubing and materials suitable for replacing the fuel sight gauge were located in the pilot's hanger. A cracked section of tubing consistent with the fuel sight gauge was recovered from a garbage can in the hanger.
PILOT INFORMATION
The pilot, age 60, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Third-class medical certificate was issued on April 19, 2006, with no limitations.
An examination of the pilot's flight records indicated 573 total flight hours, with no hours in the accident model airplane. The flight records indicated a break in flying between September 19, 2003, and January 1, 2014. The pilot did not log any additional flight time following a single 1.2 hour flight on January 1, 2014, and the day of the accident.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The 1999-model airplane, serial number 00024, was a low wing, fabric and metal covered airplane, with a fixed tricycle landing gear, and was configured for two occupants. The airplane was powered by a direct drive, horizontally opposed, carbureted, air-cooled, four-cylinder engine. The engine was a Volkswagen Aero Vee rated at 75 horsepower, and was driving a two-bladed constant pitch wooden propeller. The last inspections on the airframe and engine were each conditional type inspections on November 1, 2013.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
Weather at APA at 1453 was reported as wind 330 degrees at six knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 17,000 feet, a broken ceiling at 25,000 feet, and altimeter 29.97.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane impacted an open field eight miles west of APA on a heading of 033 degrees. The airplane traveled approximately 50 feet from the initial impact point before coming to rest upright. The initial impact point consisted of a scrape mark where the left wing impacted and a shallow crater where the engine impacted. Fragments of the majority of the propeller were located at the engine impact point, or in the immediate area.
The airplane fuselage was constructed primarily of metal tubing covered by fabric material. Fire consumed the fuselage covering from the engine cowling area aft to just forward of the horizontal stabilizer. The wings were manufactured of aluminum spars and ribs covered by a metal skin. Fire consumed the center sections of the wings that were connected to the fuselage, and outboard of the fuselage about one to two feet on each side of the fuselage.
Flight control continuity was continuous from all control surfaces to their respective controls in the cockpit.
An engine examination on scene revealed both propeller blades were broken off and splintered about eight to ten inches from the propeller hub. The propeller spinner exhibited crushing deformation to about two-thirds of its surface, with little to no rotational scoring or rotational deformation evident. The left and right cylinder head covers were separated, exposing the rocker arms for each cylinder. The propeller was rotated by hand and all rocker arms exhibited movement.
The airplane was equipped with a 10 gallon aluminum fuel cell mounted aft of the engine firewall, and forward of the instrument panel. The fuel system included a sight gauge to monitor fuel available. The sight gauge consisted of a transparent rubber hose that was mounted vertically on the forward instrument panel so as to be visible during flight. About two-thirds of the fuel tank was consumed by fire. The sight gauge was not located in the wreckage.
Fuel was gravity fed directly from the fuel tank to an Aerocarb slide style carburetor mounted on the engine. The carburetor was impact and fire damaged. Functional testing of the carburetor could not be accomplished due to the damage. The portion of the fuel feed lines from the finger strainer mounted in the tank to the gas valve was located. The portions of the fuel system that were located exhibited impact and fire damage. The remainder of the fuel system was not located due to fire and impact damage.
No anomalies were noted with the available wreckage and the engine that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Douglas County coroner, located in Castle Rock, Colorado, performed an autopsy on the pilot on March 30, 2014. The cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries.
The FAA, Toxicology Accident Research Laboratory, located in , conducted toxicological testing on the pilot. Testing for carbon monoxide and cyanide were negative. No volatiles or drugs were detected.
NTSB Identification: CEN14FA173
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, March 29, 2014 in Highlands Ranch, CO
Aircraft: WORTHINGTON DONALD WAYNE SONERAI II LT, registration: N63917
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 March 29, 2014, about 1440 mountain daylight time, a Worthington Sonerai 11L experimental airplane, N63917, crashed near Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which was not operated on a flight plan.
The pilot purchased the airplane in November, 2013. The pilot's first flight in the airplane occurred the morning of the accident. The pilot told a family member that the first flight had terminated early due to a leak in the fuel sight gauge. The pilot made a repair to the airplane and took off for a second flight. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane "struggling to stay airborne," and that the engine was running roughly as the airplane approached an open field. The airplane was observed to cross over a set of power lines, roll to the left, and descend into the ground. A post-impact fire ensued.
http://registry.faa.gov/N63917
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A man who died after his single-engine plane crashed into a field in Highlands Ranch Saturday has been identified.
Tuesday afternoon, the Douglas County Coroner’s Office identified 60-year-old James Peoples of Littleton as the victim in Saturday’s plane crash.
Peoples’ small aircraft crashed into an open field just south of C-470 and east of Lucent Boulevard in Highlands Ranch.
RELATED LINK: Deputies: Small plane crashes in field in Highlands Ranch, kills 1
Witnessed said the plane flew low over a H2O Carwash before plummeting into the field. After impact, the plane caught fire.
On Sunday, Centennial Airport Operations confirmed to FOX31 Denver that Peoples took off from Centennial Airport at approximately 2:30 p.m. in an experimental plane on the day of the crash.
The coroner said that an autopsy was performed and, while the manner of death was indicated as accidental, a cause of death has yet to be determined.
Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to investigate.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. - The pilot of a small, experimental plane died when it crashed in Highlands Ranch Saturday afternoon.
The crash was reported at about 3 p.m., according to FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.
The plane was identified by Kenitzer as a Sonerai II LT Experimental. He said it crashed under unknown circumstances. The plane was placed on the back of a tow truck and taken to a hangar at Centennial Airport around 7:45 p.m.
"(It's a) really, really small plane with very short wings. As small as a car," said flight instructor Sean Cavan.
Cavan said he was landing at Centennial around 2 p.m. when he saw an experimental plane readying to take off.
"The home built airplane that they're saying it was, that looked exactly like what it was," said Cavan.
The plane caught fire on impact and several good Samaritans tried, but were unable to extinguish the flames. Kenitzer said only the pilot was on board.
"We got a report that there was a fireball when it landed," said Douglas County sheriff's deputy Chad Teller.
7NEWS reporter Marshall Zelinger talked with one man who ran to help pilot after the crash. He believes the pilot is a hero for missing a nearby shopping center.
"It's obviously populated over here, there is a residential area, businesses in the area, so we're fortunate that it was able to land over here in this area," said Teller.
Photos posted on Twitter by Larry Steller show emergency units in an open field near Town Center Drive and Lucent Boulevard, south of C-470 shortly after the crash.
The location is about 8 miles southwest of Centennial Airport. The Sonerai II is a two-seater aircraft. Teller said it was not known if anyone else was on board.
The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash.
KUSA - A small plane crashed in Highlands Ranch on Saturday afternoon, killing the pilot, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office has confirmed.
The crash occurred near Lucent Blvd. and C-470 at approximately 3 p.m., about eight miles southwest of Centennial Airport, Allen Kenitzer with the FAA told 9NEWS. Kenitzer said the plane was a SONERAI II LT Experimental.
The plane went down in a field across from a Target shopping center and next to a car wash.
Workers at the car wash said it appeared the pilot was having problems with the plane and made an effort to steer it to the field, away from the road and shops. Two workers told 9News they ran to help after the plane nose-dived, but the aircraft was engulfed in flames.
Sean Cavan, a pilot and flight instructor at Aspen Flying Club, came to the scene concerned he might know the pilot.
"As soon as we heard about it, we were just panicking, checking the schedule and seeing if it was one of us," said Cavan.
He said he believes he saw the pilot who crashed take off from the Centennial Airport around 2 p.m. as he was returning from a flight. He said the plane he saw had very short wings and was no bigger than a car.
"It's just strange, strange that there's been three accidents in how many weeks?" Cavan said. "It's crazy, but it's part of the game. You build your own airplane, you got to make sure you build it right."
He said pilots typically build their own experimental planes.
The circumstances of the crash are unknown. Both the FAA and NTSB are now investigating.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. - An experimental plane crashed in Highlands Ranch Saturday afternoon.
The crash was reported at about 3 p.m., according to FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.
The plane was identified by Kenitzer as a Sonerai II LT. He said it crashed under unknown circumstances.
The plane caught fire on impact and several good Samaritans tried to help extinguish the flames but were not able. Kenitzer said only the pilot was on board.
7NEWS reporter Marshall Zelinger talked with one man who ran to help pilot after the crash. He believes the pilot is a hero for missing a nearby shopping center.
Photos posted on Twitter by Larry Steller show emergency units in an open field near Town Center Drive and Lucent Boulevard, south of C-470.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office confirmed the crash but had no further details.
The locations is about 8 miles southwest of Centennial Airport.
The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A small aircraft crashed in an open field in Highlands Ranch Saturday afternoon.
Reports of a plane crash came in shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday.
A spokesperson from Douglas County Sheriff’s Office told FOX31 Denver that the accident is south of C-470 and just east of Lucent Boulevard — this is right behind a major shopping center and a Super Target.
The Sheriff’s Office was unable to confirm how many people were on board and whether or not there was a fire.
Pictures posted on Twitter by Larry Sellers showed emergency crews on already on scene.
Sellers also tweeted that the plane flew low over a H2O Carwash before crashing into the field. He said the pilot initially survived the impact, but died when the plane caught on fire.
