History of Flight
On August 21, 2010, at 1849 eastern daylight time, a special light sport weight-shift-control aircraft, North Wing UUM Incorporated Scout X-C, registration N417JN, crashed in a pasture near Amherst, Virginia. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The certificated commercial pilot and passenger were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed by postcrash fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight departed from a private airstrip in Amherst, Virginia about 1755.
A witness at the private airstrip saw the aircraft depart about one hour before the accident. He recalled the pilot had refueled the aircraft the previous day but was unsure of the fuel quantity onboard.
Another witness, approximately 400 feet from the accident site, reported watching the aircraft approach about 150 feet above ground as it flew over her home. The engine was running and made a "popping" noise. The aircraft appeared to be descending to land in the pasture. The engine then revved up, and the aircraft pitched up at a steep angle, entering a tight spiral turn to the right. It continued until pitching downward, completing one downward spiral before impact. Upon collision with the ground, the aircraft erupted into flames. At impact, the engine was running at "full speed."
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 77, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His last FAA medical examination was issued on February 16, 2004, for a third-class medical certificate. He reported 2,500 flight hours on that application. His logbooks were destroyed in the postcrash fire, so total flight hours and last flight review could not be verified.
A witness stated the pilot had recently purchased the aircraft and had amassed about 20 hours flight time in it, but also opined the pilot was very experienced in this type with over 250 hours in the make and model.
The pilot’s son said his father was healthy and a very experienced pilot who flew his newly acquired weight-shift aircraft almost every day.
Aircraft Information
The tandem two-seat, weight-shift-control, fixed suspension gear airplane (serial number LS9007) was manufactured in 2010. It was powered by a Rotax 912UL, 80-horsepower horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine, equipped with a three-bladed Aerolux composite propeller. Aircraft logbooks were fire-damaged and unreadable. The tachometer was digital and unreadable due to fire damage.
Postaccident examination showed the pilot in the front seat and the passenger in the aft seat. The aircraft had dual flight controls for instruction; flight controls were positioned for operation from the aft seat. Controls were removable but attached during the accident flight. The throttle control was non-removable and positioned on the aft right foot rest.
Meteorological Information
A review of recorded data from Lynchburg, Virginia (LYH) automated weather observation station (about 23 miles northwest of the site) several minutes after the accident reported calm wind, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 8,000 feet, temperature 31 degrees Celsius, dew point 19 degrees Celsius, and altimeter 29.87 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The aircraft collided with a pasture off a residential road, 3 miles from the departure airstrip. The debris path was on a 030-degree magnetic course, with the aircraft facing 150 degrees. The first impact mark on the right side of the debris line was a scar-line about 10 feet long ending in a small crater. Three parallel craters extended to the opposite side, spaced 75 inches apart; the center crater was about 6 inches deep and 2 feet in diameter. Behind it were four propeller strikes 12–15 inches long and 2–3 inches deep. The debris path extended 37 feet from the center crater to the main wreckage.
The fiberglass hull was fragmented throughout the debris path. The avionics panel, fuel gauge, and airspeed indicators were destroyed by fire. Seat cushions and supports were melted. The rear seat mounted on the fuel tank; the fuel tank was melted. The fuel filler was found along the debris path. The dual steering bar remained with throttle linkage attached. The base tube was buckled and fire-damaged.
Detailed examination revealed the front steering assembly attached to the base tube, nose wheel tire melted off, heavy fire damage on the base tube, and the back frame fire-damaged but attached to the engine assembly. Landing gear was heavily fire-damaged; right gear broken at base tube attachment, right wheel assembly found 15 feet forward on the right side; left gear remained attached with heavy fire damage.
The dual mast was bent forward toward the nose wheel; hang pivot block assembly remained attached. Wing frame components: keel impacted and fire-damaged, attached to hang pivot block and dual mast. Crossbar tensioning cable attached; crossbars melted and damaged. Left and right crossbars attached at junctions to leading edge tubes. Front and rear flying wires connected to down tubes and control frame brackets.
Left wing control bar down tube buckled throughout; instructor bar broken from down tube and connected to control bar. Strut bar assembly fire-damaged. Wing fabric melted off; leading edge tube bent forward about 2 feet inboard of strut junction and buckled.
Right wing control bar down tube melted and buckled mid-span; instructor bar melted with a portion connected to control bar. Similar fire damage and buckle patterns.
Engine rotation could not be accomplished due to fire and impact damage. Partial disassembly revealed fuel lines fire-damaged and broken from right carburetor; left side fuel lines remained attached but fire-damaged. A single line remained attached to the mechanical fuel pump; a second return line broken. Fuel pump impact-damaged and broken from engine. Oil reservoir contained undetermined oil; lines fire-damaged.
Left carburetor remained attached to intake manifold; throttle and choke cables attached, continuity traced to throttle controls. Carburetor bowl contained no corrosion or debris and had gasoline odor. Right carburetor impact-damaged and broken from manifold; intake manifold broken from engine. Throttle cable still attached; choke cable broken from carburetor but attached to lever; carburetor bowl melted away.
Electronic ignition components melted and impact-damaged. Right side upper spark plug wires melted; upper plugs showed normal wear. Right lower plugs impact-damaged, not removable due to exhaust manifold. Left side upper and lower plugs showed normal wear.
Propeller hub remained attached to engine; one blade attached, two blades shattered along debris path, broken at hub.
Medical and Pathological Information
Autopsy of the pilot on August 23, 2010, by the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner listed "blunt force injuries." Forensic toxicology by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory detected: 62 mg/dL ethanol in muscle, no ethanol in brain; 1 mg/dL methanol in muscle and brain; 2 mg/dL n-butanol in muscle; 4 mg/dL n-propanol in muscle. The report stated the ethanol was from postmortem formation, not ingestion.
Autopsy of the passenger on August 24, 2010, also listed "blunt force injuries." Toxicology found no ethanol in liver or muscle, and no drugs detected in liver.
Tests and Research
A hand-portable Lowrance Airmap 2000c GPS receiver was recovered and downloaded by the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory. The unit recorded only position track points, not time or altitude. Track points depicted the entire recorded flight. The device stores data in volatile memory, periodically flushing to flash memory during recording and when shut down normally. Recovered data showed track log history without time or altitude.