Accident Overview
A personal flight consisting of two airplanes departed from an airport for a local formation flight. The lead airplane was piloted by the father of the passenger flying in the trailing aircraft. The trailing aircraft was a Cessna 120.
Sequence of Events
The pilot of the lead airplane departed first and maintained visual contact with the trailing aircraft by looking back. During the climb, the lead pilot observed an airplane below and behind him entering a spin to the right. However, the lead pilot did not recognize that spinning airplane as the trailing aircraft. Unable to establish radio contact with the trailing airplane, the lead pilot contacted the tower and reported that the airplane might have gone down.
Wreckage and Damage
The wreckage was located in an open meadow within 4 miles of the departure end of the runway. The damage signatures were consistent with the airplane having been in a flat spin to the right. Flight control continuity was established to all flight control surfaces. The engine was successfully run for over 12 minutes after recovery, and no anomalies were found with the engine or airframe that would have prevented normal operation. No evidence of an in-flight fire was found on the airframe or the pilot.
Pilot and Equipment
The private pilot was not instrument-rated and had accumulated 125 total flight hours, with approximately 50 hours in the accident airplane. The airplane's ELT was found in the off position with an expired battery.
Discovery Timeline
The local fire department was alerted to a possible aircraft accident at 1359, but the aircraft was not located from the air until 1427, approximately 41 minutes after the accident.