History of Flight
On February 19, 2012, about 1330 central standard time, an amateur-built Crain BD-4 airplane, registration N215BD, impacted terrain following a loss of control near Clarinda, Iowa. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The local flight originated from Schenck Field Airport (ICL) in Clarinda, Iowa, about 1249.
Data from an onboard GPS receiver indicated that after takeoff from runway 20, the airplane made a climbing left turn and headed north toward Villisca, Iowa. It leveled off at about 3,000 feet msl, then turned northeast toward Corning, Iowa, and later turned right heading southwest back toward ICL. Approaching ICL, it descended and passed over the airport at about 2,600 feet msl and 140 knots, heading west-southwest. The airplane then began a left turn back toward the approach end of runway 2. The last recorded data point at 1330:15 placed the airplane about 1.2 miles southwest of the runway approach end. Based on the last two positions, the airplane was descending at 60 feet per minute at 115 knots on a heading of 351 degrees. The last GPS position was above the accident site. The 41-minute flight covered about 60 nautical miles.
Witnesses reported seeing the airplane in a steep descent before ground impact but did not observe it prior to that.
Personnel Information
The 53-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane rating and a third-class airman medical certificate issued February 17, 2011, with a restriction for corrective lenses. According to his flight logbook, he had accumulated 93 total flight hours, with about 10 hours in the accident airplane since September 2011. The most recent logbook entry was dated January 8, 2012.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was an amateur-built BD-4, serial number 215, a four-place, strut-braced high-wing tricycle-gear aircraft built by the owner/pilot. It received a Special Airworthiness Certificate on August 9, 2005, and was powered by a 180-horsepower Lycoming IO-360-A1A four-cylinder reciprocating engine. According to the designer's website, the updated BD-4B had stall speeds of 61 mph (flaps retracted) and 55 mph (flaps extended). Maintenance records showed 48.58 total hours in service as of the last condition inspection on December 15, 2011.
Meteorological Information
Weather at ICL at 1024: wind from 180 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 7°C, dew point -5°C, altimeter 30.08 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane impacted a harvested farm field about 1.2 miles southwest of ICL. The nose wheel and propeller were buried. The fuselage from the firewall aft was fragmented, but the tail surfaces remained attached with hinges intact. Both wings separated and exhibited crushing consistent with a near-vertical impact. Postaccident engine examination confirmed valve train continuity, valve action, and rotation. One magneto produced spark on all leads; the other did not due to a fractured internal ignition point assembly from impact damage. The airframe examination confirmed all flight control surfaces present; ailerons and flaps had separated from their wing panels. The instrument panel was crushed, and control system continuity could not be confirmed due to damage, but no pre-impact failures were found.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner on February 20, 2012, attributed the pilot's death to injuries from the accident. Toxicology testing by the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute was negative for all substances in the screening profile.