History of Flight
On November 20, 2011, about 1328 central standard time, a Skykits Savannah VGW, registration N61XT, incurred substantial damage when it struck the runway during takeoff from Runway 6 at Olson Airport (LL53), Plato Center, Illinois. The pilot, alone aboard, sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was registered to the Northern Illinois Rotorcraft Club and operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed; no flight plan was filed.
A witness reported that the pilot intended to depart LL53 and land on his property about 3 nautical miles northwest. The pilot started the aircraft near its hangar and ran the engine for 10–15 minutes. The engine quit, but the pilot restarted it and began taxiing. The witness observed the pilot taxi to the west end of the runway, then taxi the full length to the east, then return to the west end before departing. After takeoff, the aircraft climbed to about 50 feet above ground when its wings began to "wobble." The wings wobbled, the aircraft turned left, and nosed straight down. It impacted the side of the asphalt runway and came to rest inverted on the south side.
Personnel Information
The 69-year-old pilot held a student pilot certificate with the goal of obtaining a sport pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. He did not hold an FAA medical certificate; as a sport pilot, a valid driver's license sufficed to indicate medical qualification. According to a witness, the pilot had approximately 10 hours of flight time in airplanes. Around 1990, he had obtained a student pilot certificate and about 10 hours of instruction in a Cessna 172. FAA records showed a third-class medical and student pilot certificate issued in June 1990 and December 1992, but no renewal or private pilot certificate. The pilot was an accomplished uncertificated ultralight gyroplane pilot, having built and flown many such aircraft over years, though his flight hours in ultralight gyroplanes were not determined.
He purchased the accident aircraft from Skykits Corporation on June 1, 2011. A flight instructor flew it from Tennessee to Valparaiso, Indiana, on June 29, 2011, and flew with the accident pilot on July 4, 2011, for 0.4 hours. The accident pilot did not perform any takeoff or landing during that flight. The instructor delivered the aircraft to LL53 on July 16, 2011, and planned to provide instruction, but this was delayed because the pilot did not receive his student sport pilot certificate until September or October. The instructor never provided instruction in the accident aircraft, and the pilot had no logbook endorsement for solo flight in it. The instructor reported that the aircraft had about 13 hours of operation when delivered, and that the accident pilot intended to taxi to become familiar with it.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a 2011 Skykits Savannah VGW light-sport airplane, serial number 10-03-51-905, seating two with a maximum gross weight of 1,235 pounds. It was powered by a 115-horsepower Rotax 914UL2 engine, serial number 6774029. The recording hour meter indicated 15 hours of operation since manufacture. The flight instructor described the aircraft as a "rocket ship" due to its high power-to-weight ratio.
Meteorological Information
At 1252, the surface observation at DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, about 11 nautical miles southeast of LL53, reported wind 010° at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles, overcast ceiling 2,300 feet, temperature 6°C, dew point -1°C, altimeter 30.24 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The aircraft struck the south edge of Runway 6 about 1,560 feet from the approach end. Ground scars at the asphalt edge were about 10 feet from the inverted main wreckage. The right wingtip was crushed inboard, and the entire leading edge of the right wing exhibited aft crushing. The nose and engine compartment were crushed aft. The left wing showed buckling along its span but no aft leading-edge crushing. The fuselage behind the cabin was buckled. The empennage was intact but had impact damage to the horizontal stabilizer and elevators. The ground scars and damage were consistent with a steep nose-down, right wing-low attitude at impact. Flight control continuity was confirmed from cockpit to surfaces.
The three-bladed propeller hub remained attached to the engine. Two composite blades were broken from the hub at the roots; the attached blade had a partial fracture near midspan. One separated blade was broken in two pieces, with chordwise scratching; the other had a partial fracture opposite the direction of travel.
The engine remained intact with minimal impact damage. It was transported to Poplar Grove Airport, Illinois, for examination and a test stand run.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy was performed on November 23, 2011, at the Kane County Coroner's Office. The cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force trauma resulting from an aircraft crash. A Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report by the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute detected the following: chlorpheniramine (sedating antihistamine) in heart blood and urine; ephedrine in urine only; metoprolol (prescription beta blocker) in urine and heart blood; pseudoephedrine (decongestant) in urine and heart blood. Carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol tests were negative. Chlorpheniramine carries a warning about impairing mental or physical ability for hazardous tasks; its normal therapeutic range is 0.0100–0.0400 ug/ml.
Tests and Research
The engine was examined at Poplar Grove Airmotive. Compression checks were: No. 1 cylinder 80/80, No. 2 80/80, No. 3 78/80, No. 4 79/80. The engine ran normally from idle to full power on a test stand. The gearbox examination revealed that the vacuum drive gear contacted the gearbox case when the propeller impacted the terrain, leaving circular scrapes and grooves consistent with the engine rotating at impact.
The Rotax Turbo Control Unit (TCU) was downloaded at Rotech Flight Safety in British Columbia, Canada. The data covered 13 minutes of engine operation, with 13 lines recorded (one per minute). Engine rpm ranged from 2,865 to 4,194 rpm. The last recorded rpm was 3,841 rpm. Typical takeoff power produces 5,500–5,800 rpm. If TCU power is turned off before a one-minute interval, data for that partial minute is lost.