Monday, July 11, 2016

Jim Kimball Enterprises (Pitts) 12S, Tumbling Goose LLC, N867TG: Accident occurred July 11, 2016 near Tangerine Airport (FL97), Zellwood, Orange County, Florida

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Analysis 

The private pilot reported that this was his second flight in his newly manufactured, experimental exhibition airplane. Earlier in the morning, the pilot flew the airplane for 30 minutes over the airport to become familiar with the airplane and noted no anomalies. Several hours later, the pilot departed again to perform aerobatics. While returning to the airport, he reduced power to descend, and once the airplane was at the desired altitude, he advanced the throttle, but the engine did not respond. He then looked at the engine monitor and noted that the engine had lost total power. The pilot noticed a positive indication of fuel pressure, and he used the primer switch, which bypassed the fuel servo, to restart the engine. Once he released the switch, the engine again lost power. The pilot added that, when the airplane was over the airport, he set up for landing, but he believed that the airplane was going too fast to land, so he used the primer switch to develop engine power and perform a go-around maneuver. During the next approach, the pilot slowed the airplane, and once over the runway, he flared for landing. The airplane continued to fly about 10 ft above ground level (agl) down the length of the runway. The pilot tried using the primer switch again to perform another go-around maneuver, but about 200 ft agl, the engine lost total power. He then tried to perform a forced landing to a clearing but impacted trees and terrain before the clearing.

Postaccident examination of the engine confirmed engine control and fuel system continuity up to the fuel servo. The fuel servo could not be tested due to impact damage; therefore, the cause of the loss of engine power could not be determined. 

Probable Cause and Findings
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: 

A total loss of engine power during descent for reasons that could not be determined because impact damage precluded a complete examination of the fuel servo.

Findings

Aircraft
Lateral/bank control - Not attained/maintained (Cause)

Environmental issues
Tree(s) - Contributed to outcome

Not determined
Not determined - Unknown/Not determined (Cause)

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Orlando, Florida

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

http://registry.faa.gov/N867TG




NTSB Identification: ERA16LA251
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 11, 2016 in Zellwood, FL
Aircraft: TUMBLING GOOSE LLC 12S, registration: N867TG
Injuries: 1 Serious.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 11, 2016, about 1250 eastern daylight time, an experimental exhibition Tumbling Goose LLC, 12S, N867TG, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power while approaching Tangerine Airport (FL97), Zellwood, Florida. The pilot incurred serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal, local flight. The airplane was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot, this was his second flight in the newly manufactured experimental exhibition airplane. His first flight was earlier that morning, and he flew for approximately 30 minutes over the airport to get familiar with the new airplane. The flight was uneventful and he made two practice approaches before landing and debriefing with the airplane builders on the handling characteristics of the airplane.

Several hours later, the pilot departed again to perform aerobatics in the airplane with a sufficient amount of fuel for the planned flight. About 1 hour into the flight, while flying at 4,000 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot reduced the engine power in order to descend towards the airport for landing. At 2,000 feet agl, the pilot advanced the throttle with no response from the engine. He looked at the engine monitor and discerned that the engine had lost total power, though the propeller continued to rotate. The pilot turned the fuel boost pump on and noticed positive fuel pressure, and he moved the mixture and throttle controls with no effect on the engine. The pilot then toggled the spring loaded fuel primer switch, the engine restarted, and appeared to go to full power. Once the pilot released the fuel primer switch, the engine again ceased producing power.

The airplane was now over the airport, so the pilot set up for a landing on the grass runway. The pilot noticed he was still high and flying "very fast" for landing, so he performed a go-around maneuver by using the primer switch to start the engine and fly around the traffic pattern to set up for another landing. On the next landing approach, the pilot slowed the airplane, and once over the runway, he attempted to flare for landing. The airplane continued to fly about 10 feet agl for the length of the runway. The pilot tried to perform another go-around by toggling the fuel primer switch again. The engine restarted, but lost total power shortly after and did not restart. At the time, the airplane was about 200 feet agl. The pilot then attempted to perform a forced landing to a clearing. The airplane was "too low and slow," and impacted trees and terrain prior to the clearing.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the single seat, bi-wing, fixed landing gear, experimental airplane, serial number 353, was manufactured in 2016. It was powered by a Barrett Performance, Vedeneyev M14P, 430 horsepower engine, equipped with a 3-blade MT propeller. The airplane's most recent100-hour inspection was completed on March 16, 2016, and it had accumulated 7 hours of total hours of flight time since that date. The airplane was equipped with an engine primer system for starting purposes, which injected an unregulated fuel supply directly from the fuel boost pump into the supercharger, which bypassed the fuel/air servo controller.

Examination of the wreckage by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that it came to rest upright with the nose and engine buried in the ground. Both wings were substantially damaged, and the tail section fractured just behind the pilot's seat. The fuselage was crushed by the impact with the tree.

The engine controls all appeared to be intact from the cockpit to the engine. The fuel system was clear of blockages up to the fuel servo. Operation of the fuel servo could not be confirmed due to impact damage. The induction system was free of blockages. The original ignition system had been replaced after the engine's most recent overhaul with an experimental electronic system, and the original carburetor was replaced with an experimental fuel injection system, also after the last overhaul.

NTSB Identification: ERA16LA251
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 11, 2016 in Zellwood, FL
Aircraft: TUMBLING GOOSE LLC 12S, registration: N867TG
Injuries: 1 Minor.

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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 11, 2016, about 1250 eastern daylight time, an experimental exhibition Tumbling Goose LLC 12S, N867TG, was substantially damaged when it lost power and impacted trees during landing at a private runway at Tangerine Airport (FL97), Zellwood, Florida. The pilot incurred minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal, local flight. The airplane was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot, this was his second flight in the newly manufactured experimental exhibition airplane. His first flight was earlier on the morning of July 11, and he flew for approximately 30 minutes over the airport to get familiar with the new airplane. The flight was uneventful, and he made two practice approaches before landing and debriefing with the airplane builders on the handling characteristics of the airplane.

Several hours later, the pilot departed again to perform aerobatics in the airplane. About 1 hour later, and while flying at 4,000 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot reduced the engine power in order to descend towards the airport for landing. At 2,000 feet agl, the pilot advanced the throttle with no response from the engine. He looked at the engine monitor and discerned that the engine had lost total power, though the propeller continued to rotate. The pilot turned the fuel boost pump on and noticed a positive fuel pressure, and he moved the mixture and throttle controls with no effect on the engine. The pilot then toggled the spring loaded fuel primer switch, the engine restarted, and appeared to go to full power. Once the pilot released the fuel primer switch, the engine again ceased producing power.

The airplane was now over the airport, so he to set up for a landing on the grass runway. The pilot noticed he was still high and flying "very fast" for landing, so he performed a go-around maneuver by using the primer switch to start the engine and fly the around traffic pattern to set up for another landing. On the next landing approach, the pilot slowed the airplane to 88 mph, and once over the runway, he attempted to flare the airplane for landing. The airplane continued to fly about 10 feet agl for the length of the runway. The pilot tried to perform another go-around by toggling the fuel primer switch again. The engine restarted, but lost total power shortly after and did not restart. At the time, the airplane was about 200 feet agl. The pilot then attempted to perform a forced landing to a clearing. The airplane was "too low and slow," and impacted trees and terrain prior to the clearing.

Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that it came to rest upright with the nose and engine buried in the ground. Both wings were damaged, and the tail section fractured just behind the pilot's seat. The fuselage was crushed by the impact with the tree.

The airplane, which was equipped with a Vedeneyev M14P supercharged, fuel-injected radial engine, was retained for further examination.


APOPKA, Fla. —The pilot of a single-engine aerobatic plane survived a crash around noon Monday that heavily damaged his aircraft and left rescuers shocked to find him conscious and able to help get out of the wreckage.

“I heard the engine coughing, sputtering and wheezing,” said witness Chris Williams, who manages a mobile home park about 100 yards from the crash site off Round Lake Road. “He came right over the top of me. Very low.”

Williams told WESH 2 News he watched the pilot line up to try to land on a nearby airstrip with no engine power. Instead, the plane went nose down into some woods. Williams and a co-worker ran to the crash site.

“It was 5 or 6 feet in the air,” Williams said. “We climbed up the plane, or what was left of it.”

Orange County deputies say the pilot, who they did not immediately identify, suffered cuts to his head but the injuries are not life-threatening. He was able to speak with them and give his name.

“He’s a certified pilot who took the high-performance plane for a test run,” said Lt. Ryan Olsson. “He experienced an equipment malfunction up in the air.”

Olsson says the pilot had made one successful test landing before experiencing engine trouble on another test flight.

Barbara Miller, who lives at the mobile home park about 100 yards from the crash site, is thankful the plane did not hit a house and that the pilot was not badly injured.

“He must have had a guardian angel,” Miller told WESH 2 News.

Williams said he’d seen the yellow plane doing acrobatic maneuvers in this rural area of northwest Orange County previously.

“It was a well-built plane, otherwise (the crash) would have killed him,” Williams said.

Deputies say the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the crash site.

Story and video:   http://www.wesh.com



ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —

A pilot is recovering after crashing a small plane in Zellwood.

The small airplane went down Monday in Orange County.

The crash was reported just before noon on Cemetery Road in Zellwood, near Apopka.

The 48-year-old licensed pilot took the one-seat plane out for a test flight following mechanical work. It was during that flight he had an engine problem, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The pilot briefly landed on an airstrip at Tangerine Airport, took off again, and crashed between two trees, officials said.

“(He) was able to land safely, tried to circle back around and that’s when he kinda lost control of the plane and ended up in a wooded area behind some residences off of Round Lake Rd.,” said Lt. Ryan Olsson, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Witnesses called 911 saying the plane was clipping trees and seemed like it was about to crash.

The pilot had also been communicating with someone at the airport until the signal was lost.

The pilot was alert and conscious when he was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. He is currently in stable condition.

“We was talking to people, giving his name and date of birth, just visually looked like he had some minor head injuries,” Olsson.

The plane was built in March 2016. According to deputies, it’s a high performance aerobatic plane and it’s believed there was some sort of engine malfunction.

The pilot has not been identified.

Story and video:   http://www.wftv.com




ZELLWOOD, Fla. - A 48-year-old man survived a plane crash Monday in Orange County, according to authorities.

The single-seat aerobatic airplane crashed just after noon near Cemetery Road in Zellwood, Orange County sheriff's deputies said.

The plane, which had 8 to 10 hours of usage on its engine, took off from Tangerine Field.

"It appears the plane had mechanical issues and crashed shortly after takeoff," the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

The pilot attempted unsuccessfully to land, officials said, and the aircraft went into some trees in the pilot's second landing attempt.

Deputies said the pilot suffered minor injuries and was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

No other details were immediately available.

Story and video:  http://www.clickorlando.com

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