History of Flight
On September 8, 2012, about 1800 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur built Schoepflin DA-4-550 (Super Buccaneer), registration N550YS, impacted the ground near Viola, Idaho, while maneuvering over a private residence. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under 14 CFR Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
Responding law enforcement from the Latah County Sheriff's Department reported that the pilot had been hired to perform a flyby during a Republican gathering. For unknown reasons, the airplane began circling the group and the pilot was dropping streamers from the airplane.
Witnesses reported that the pilot was flying low, about 800 feet above ground level (agl), over a large crowd. The airplane appeared to be in slow flight, and as it entered a steep turn, it stalled and spun to the ground. Witnesses also reported that the engine was running and sounded "strong."
An FAA inspector responded and reported that the majority of the airplane had burned in the postimpact fire. The engine was recovered for further examination.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 56, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea. He held a third-class medical issued on September 6, 2011, with the restriction that he must wear corrective lenses for distant vision and have glasses for near vision.
According to the pilot's Airman and Medical Records Center records, he reported on his most recent medical application (September 6, 2011) a total time of 1,800 flight hours with 0 hours logged in the prior 6 months. At his previous medical (March 26, 2008), he reported 1,868 total hours with 75 hours in the prior 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane logbooks were not made available to the NTSB; however, the FAA reviewed them. The last annual inspection was on March 4, 2010. The FAA also reported that the Continental Motors, Inc., engine, model IO-550-A7B, serial number 280445, was rebuilt and zero-timed by CMI on December 6, 1996.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest on a hill slope in a horse pasture. All flight control components were identified at the accident site, and the burned area was about 100 yards in diameter with the airplane in the center. Most of the airplane was thermally destroyed. The right wing remained intact; the left wing was mostly thermally destroyed. The propeller assembly was partially separated from the crankshaft but remained in its relative normal position; one of the three propeller blades showed S-bending deformation, and the other two blades were not visible in the wreckage.
Medical and Pathological Information
According to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), several attempts were made to contact the Latah County Coroner's department to obtain tissue samples for toxicology analysis and an autopsy report. The initial report from the coroner's office stated that there were not enough remains to complete a full autopsy.
Test and Research
An engine inspection was performed on September 11, 2012, at Discount Aircraft Salvage in Deer Park, Washington. No evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure was found that would have prevented normal operation and production of horsepower.
Visual inspection revealed thermal and impact damage. The left and right magnetos were not recovered. The ignition harness sustained thermal damage. Spark plug electrodes exhibited normal, worn-out signatures with dark colored combustion spots. The fuel pump was not recovered; the fuel manifold valve sustained thermal damage. Disassembly of the fuel manifold valve revealed that the screen and body were free of debris. Fuel nozzles and lines sustained thermal and impact damage; the nozzles were partially obstructed by soot. The throttle body/metering unit was not recovered. The oil pump sustained thermal damage; oil sump and oil cooler were not recovered. The oil pick-up tube and screen sustained thermal and impact damage, but the screen was free of debris.
Cylinders sustained thermal damage with partially melted valve covers. Combustion chambers were inspected with a lighted borescope; piston faces, valve heads, combustion chambers, and lower spark plugs were unremarkable. Accessory gears sustained thermal and impact damage. The starter, vacuum pump, propeller, and propeller governor were not recovered with the engine; the propeller was not examined. The starter adaptor and alternator sustained thermal damage; the starter adaptor also sustained impact damage.