28 Nov 2009: KRUSMARK DAVID HOMER SEAREY — GRAF DAVID R

28 Nov 2009: KRUSMARK DAVID HOMER SEAREY — GRAF DAVID R

No fatalities • St. Paul, MN, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff during the takeoff roll when he became aware of the engine not producing full power.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On November 28, 2009, at 1145 central standard time, a Krusmark Searay experimental light-sport airplane, sustained minor damage during an aborted takeoff from Lake Elmo Airport, St. Paul, Minnesota. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant and registered owner, sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

The pilot stated he was planning on flying the airplane in the traffic pattern to practice takeoffs and landings. During takeoff from runway 32 (asphalt; 2,850 feet long by 75 feet wide), the engine never reached full power, and the pilot aborted the takeoff approximately 18 feet above the runway. During the attempted landing, the pilot initiated a steep bank turn in order to avoid an airport perimeter fence. Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain and came to rest upright. The airplane sustained minor damage to the left main landing gear, fuselage, and composite propeller. The pilot sustained fractures to two vertebrae in his neck and back.

A review of the airplane's maintenance records showed the airplane underwent its most recent conditional inspection on November 1, 2008. The airframe and engine had accumulated 273 total hours.

Examination of the E81 Subaru engine by a local mechanic and the pilot revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine was test run with a slave propeller and the engine developed normal power and RPM. The reason for the loss of partial engine power during takeoff could not be determined.

Contributing factors

  • cause Malfunction

Conditions

Weather
VMC

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.