2011 RV-7A Crash Near Winfield, Kansas (N554JR)

Accident Overview and Flight History On September 7, 2011, at approximately 1005 Central Daylight Time, a 2008 RV-7A experimental amateur-built airplane, registration N554JR, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Winfield, Kansas. The aircraft was owned and operated by a private individual. The pilot, who was the only person on board, was fatally injured. The flight was a personal trip operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a filed flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. A friend of the pilot reported that the flight departed Justin, Texas, around 0830. The intended route was to visit relatives in Kansas before proceeding to the Badlands Fly-in in South Dakota. FAA Wichita (ICT) East Radar reported that the pilot checked in via radio for visual flight rules (VFR) at 0959. At the time of the call, the aircraft was level at 8,500 feet. Radar and radio contact was lost around 1005, with no distress calls reported. A witness near the accident site heard a loud engine noise shortly after 1000 and observed the aircraft heading south and downward. The witness noted the engine sounded wide open and the aircraft was flying upside down, with no visible cockpit or pilot. The aircraft passed behind trees, and the witness later found the wreckage in a cloud of dust without smoke. First responders arrived around 1011 and found the wreckage mangled and spread across a soybean field in a generally southern direction. The pilot's body was found about one mile northwest of the wreckage at 1250, and canopy parts were discovered about three-quarters of a mile northwest.