Accident Overview
On May 9, 2009, at 1317 central daylight time, a kit-built Velocity airplane, registration N45YV, experienced a loss of control and impacted terrain near Katy, Texas. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual. The flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions in accordance with 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. No flight plan was filed. The flight departed Houston Executive Airport (TME) at 1310.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The pilot, aged 46, held a private pilot certificate for single-engine land aircraft and a third-class medical certificate issued on January 7, 2008, with a requirement to wear corrective lenses. His logbook indicated over 672.6 hours of total flight time, with potentially more than 250 hours in the accident airplane. His most recent flight review was completed on April 21, 2009, in that airplane.
The four-seat, swept-wing, canard-equipped, fixed-gear airplane was manufactured in 1992 and held an Experimental-Amateur built airworthiness certificate. It was powered by a 200-horsepower Lycoming IO-360-C1E6 engine. The propeller was an experimental three-bladed composite Vesta GP3-68, which had recently replaced a Catto propeller. Maintenance records showed the last conditional inspection on September 1, 2008, at a Hobbs time of 711.3 hours. The final logbook entry, dated January 15, 2009, documented landing gear maintenance. No logbook entry was found for the propeller installation date, and no paperwork was submitted to an FAA Flight Standards District Office regarding the propeller change or required flight testing.
Meteorological Conditions
At 1253, an automated weather station at Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR), located 15 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, reported wind from 160 degrees at 8 knots gusting to 16 knots, scattered clouds at 3,800 feet, temperature 31 degrees Celsius, dew point 21 degrees Celsius, and barometric pressure of 29.95 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Examination
The wreckage was discovered about two miles southeast of TME in a flat, lightly wooded area. The airplane was inverted. Fuel was present in the tanks. Two engine mounts were fractured, and one propeller blade had separated from the hub and was found approximately 200 yards west of the main wreckage.
An autopsy performed on May 11, 2009, listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries and the manner as accident. Toxicological testing found no carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, or drugs.
GPS Data
Data from a Garmin GPSMap 496 revealed four track logs on the accident day. Active log 030 corresponded to a high-speed taxi. Log 031 showed a departure, left downwind pattern, and landing. Log 032 showed a departure, left downwind, two orbits above the runway, and landing. Log 033 showed a departure and a left turn to a wide pattern. At 1316:58, the airplane turned left through 029 degrees at 165 mph in a slight descent. At 1317:01, it turned left through 029 degrees and rapidly decelerated to 94 mph, continuing to decelerate and descend until impact.
Propeller Analysis
An examination of the propeller on May 17, 2010, at the NTSB laboratories revealed disbonding between the blade shank and ferrule. The blade shank exhibited signatures of low adhesion to the flox adhesive. Similarly, low adhesion was found between the adhesive on the blade butt and the ferrule surface. A borescope inspection of the liberated blade's bolt hole showed numerous pores, indicating entrained air during the bonding process. Examination of the bolt threaded through the blade center revealed that approximately 20 percent of the adhesive had separated from the bolt, and the remaining adhesive had broken away. No evidence of bolt surface pre-treatment was found. The flox adhesive on the ferrule's radial surface showed signs of fracture and degrading consistent with mechanical battering. The eight steel set screws were fractured.