On March 29, 2014, a WORTHINGTON DONALD WAYNE SONERAI II LT 2LT (registration N63917) operated by PEOPLES JIM M was involved in an aviation accident near Highlands Ranch, CO. One person was killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s loss of control during a forced landing following a loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined due to postimpact fire damage. This summary draws on records from NTSB.
A 1999 Worthington Sonerai 11L, N63917, crashed near Highlands Ranch, Colorado, on March 29, 2014, killing the pilot. The aircraft was destroyed in a post-impact fire.
Accident Overview and Flight History On March 29, 2014, at approximately 1440 mountain daylight time, a 1999-model Worthington Sonerai 11L experimental airplane, registration N63917, crashed near Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The private pilot was fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed. The flight was a local Part 91 operation conducted under visual meteorological conditions without a filed flight plan. The pilot had purchased the aircraft in November 2013. The morning of the accident marked the pilot's first flight in the airplane, which ended early due to a leak in the fuel sight gauge. After making a repair, the pilot took off for a second flight. Witnesses reported the airplane struggling to stay airborne and the engine running roughly as it approached an open field. The aircraft crossed a set of power lines, rolled to the left, and descended into the ground, where a post-impact fire occurred. Replacement clear tubing and materials for the fuel sight gauge were found in the pilot's hangar, along with a cracked section of tubing consistent with the fuel sight gauge in a garbage can. ## Personnel and Aircraft Information The pilot, age 60, held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land ratings. His last FAA Third-class medical certificate was issued on April 19, 2006, with no limitations. Flight records showed 573 total hours, with no hours in the accident model. A break in flying occurred between September 19, 2003, and January 1, 2014, with only a 1.2-hour flight logged on January 1, 2014, before the accident. The 1999-model airplane, serial number 00024, was a low-wing, fabric and metal-covered aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear, configured for two occupants. It was powered by a 75-horsepower Volkswagen Aero Vee engine driving a two-bladed constant-pitch wooden propeller. The last inspections on the airframe and engine were conditional type inspections on November 1, 2013. ## Meteorological and Airport Information Weather at APA at 1453 was reported as wind 330 degrees at six knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 17,000 feet, a broken ceiling at 25,000 feet, and altimeter 29.97. ## Wreckage and Impact Information The airplane impacted an open field eight miles west of APA on a heading of 033 degrees. It traveled approximately 50 feet from the initial impact point before coming to rest upright. The initial impact point consisted of a scrape mark from the left wing and a shallow crater from the engine. Fragments of the majority of the propeller were located at the engine impact point or in the immediate area. Fire consumed the fuselage covering from the engine cowling area aft to just forward of the horizontal stabilizer. The wings, manufactured of aluminum spars and ribs covered by metal skin, had their center sections consumed by fire. Flight control continuity was continuous from all control surfaces to their respective controls in the cockpit. An engine examination on scene revealed both propeller blades were broken off and splintered about eight to ten inches from the propeller hub. The propeller spinner exhibited crushing deformation to about two-thirds of its surface, with little to no rotational scoring or rotational deformation evident. The left and right cylinder head covers were separated, exposing the rocker arms for each cylinder. The propeller was rotated by hand, and all rocker arms exhibited movement. The airplane was equipped with a 10-gallon aluminum fuel cell mounted aft of the engine firewall and forward of the instrument panel. The fuel system included a sight gauge to monitor fuel available, consisting of a transparent rubber hose mounted vertically on the forward instrument panel. About two-thirds of the fuel tank was consumed by fire, and the sight gauge was not located in the wreckage. Fuel was gravity-fed directly from the fuel tank to an Aerocarb slide-style carburetor mounted on the engine. The carburetor was impact and fire damaged, and functional testing could not be accomplished due to the damage. The portion of the fuel feed lines from the finger strainer mounted in the tank to the gas valve was located, exhibiting impact and fire damage. The remainder of the fuel system was not located due to fire and impact damage. No anomalies were noted with the available wreckage and the engine that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact. ## Medical and Pathological Information The Douglas County coroner, located in Castle Rock, Colorado, performed an autopsy on the pilot on March 30, 2014. The cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries. The FAA Toxicology Accident Research Laboratory conducted toxicological testing on the pilot. Testing for carbon monoxide and cyanide were negative, and no volatiles or drugs were detected.