History of Flight
On August 16, 2014, at 2324 central daylight time, a Lancair LC40-550FG, registration N6500Z, impacted terrain after departing Cook Canyon Ranch Airport (TA25) near Ranger, Texas. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
Two witnesses at the airport observed the airplane depart from Runway 35, which had been set to a high lighting level by airport personnel. The airplane initiated a right turn toward the east. The bank angle increased slowly to what the witnesses described as a "knife edge" angle, after which the navigation lights became vertically aligned. The airplane then descended out of their sight.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 63, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument ratings. On July 7, 2014, he was issued a third-class medical certificate requiring corrective lenses. According to his logbook, he had accumulated 451.2 hours of total flight time, including 23.8 hours at night and 3.1 hours in actual instrument conditions. He completed a biennial flight review on July 25, 2014, during which he performed four instrument approaches, holding procedures, and three landings, all in daytime conditions.
The pilot received initial Lancair training from May 29 to 31, 2012, comprising 5 hours of ground instruction and 12.7 hours of flight instruction. Including this training, he had 118.8 hours in the Lancair, with 2.4 hours at night. His last two recorded night flights occurred on July 18, 2013, and October 3, 2012, both with a flight instructor. Most of his night flying was conducted at airports in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The pilot was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration night currency requirements, which mandate three takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days for carrying passengers.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was a 2002 Lancair LC40-550FG, serial number 40040, issued a standard airworthiness certificate on February 26, 2002. It was equipped with a Continental IO-550 engine, serial number 913870. The last annual inspection was completed on June 12, 2014, at a total of 856.2 hours. On February 12, 2014, an Aspen Evolution 2000 electronic flight information system with synthetic vision was installed, replacing the original analog flight instruments.
On July 8, 2014, during troubleshooting of a "flaps not always retracting fully" discrepancy, a mechanic found a loose blade connector to the flaps up microswitch. The mechanic crimped the terminal and reinstalled it, also adjusted the flaps down microswitch and roller arms for the flaps up microswitch. No further maintenance entries were made regarding the next seven flights before the accident.
Meteorological Information
At 2325, the weather observation station at TA25 reported wind from 100 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 30°C, dew point 16°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.94 inches of mercury. According to U.S. Naval Observatory data, moonrise occurred at 2329, about four minutes after the accident. Several pilots who departed from TA25 before and after the accident described the flying conditions as "extremely dark" and "like a black hole," with no ground lighting, moon, or stars visible for orientation.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located 0.4 miles northeast of the departure end of Runway 35. The initial impact point was on a gravel road, and the debris path was oriented southeast. The main wreckage came to rest about 183 feet from the initial impact. The fuselage was inverted, with the left wing down against a tree. The right main wheel was found 335 feet from the initial impact. The fuselage and empennage exhibited post-impact thermal damage.
Aileron control continuity was confirmed from the control sticks to the torque tube bellcranks, but multiple fractures were present in the left and right aileron torque tubes. The elevator remained attached to the horizontal stabilizers, with control continuity confirmed to the aft cabin push-pull tubes. The elevator interconnect was fractured, and the fire-damaged aft push-pull tube was separated and fractured. The rudder was fire-damaged and separated from the vertical stabilizer; the upper portion, including the balance weight, separated from the lower portion. Rudder control continuity was confirmed from the pedals to the rudder.
The left and right flaps separated from the wings and were broken into three major pieces each. Flap control continuity was established from the actuator to the left flap inboard hinge, and to the right flap control rod, which had separated and exhibited a 40-degree bend. The right flap outboard bellcrank and final drive control rod had separated. The flap switch was found in the up position. The flap actuator was examined with no anomalies, and the fractured control rod end showed overload signatures. The flap limit switch rod contacted the up position and takeoff extension position stop microswitch rollers, consistent with the actuator in the takeoff position. The flap actuator was electrically cycled through its full range without issues, and electrical continuity was verified.
A separated pneumatic gyro housing and gyro were found with rotational scoring. The propeller remained attached to the separated crankshaft flange; one mounting stud and a portion of one blade had separated. The other two blades were attached, all exhibiting leading edge gouges, chordwise scoring, blade twist, tip curling, and paint polishing.
The engine suffered impact damage that fractured and bent the crankshaft, fractured the crankcase, and fractured the #3 and #5 cylinder heads. Crankshaft rotation was not possible due to deformation. Borescope examination of all six cylinders revealed no anomalies or signs of operational distress. Fuel system components contained residual fuel with no pre-accident anomalies. The left magneto produced spark on all six ignition terminals; the right magneto had impact-related damage preventing spark. Examination of the airframe and engine found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Additional Information
An iPhone recovered from the accident site was examined by the NTSB recorder lab. A photograph taken on the afternoon before the accident showed an iPad mounted in front of the right seat passenger, displaying mapping information. No data was recovered from the iPad.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on August 18, 2014, by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as blunt force injuries. Toxicology tests conducted by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute detected no drugs.
Tests and Research
FAA radar data showed that a Cessna 550 departed from TA25 at 2323:32, followed by the accident airplane 57 seconds later at 2324:29, with an in-trail distance of 5.5 nautical miles. The highest altitude recorded for the accident airplane was 1,725 feet mean sea level, approximately 249 feet above the airport elevation.