History of Flight
On October 4, 2017, at about 1107 central daylight time, an amateur-built Horizon 2 airplane, N428AP, collided with terrain in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The private pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postimpact fire. The airplane was registered to the pilot, who was operating it under 14 CFR Part 91 for a local personal flight. Visual flight rules conditions existed near the accident site, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed from Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) in Eden Prairie at about 1103.
The pilot was conducting the first flight of his Horizon 2 airplane after building it. According to the FCM tower controller, after the airplane lifted off from runway 28R, the pilot aborted the takeoff for unknown reasons. He then taxied back and took off again.
Witnesses at the airport reported that the airplane was unstable during the takeoff. One witness said it appeared to become airborne too soon and settled back on the runway before lifting off again. Others described the airplane struggling to gain altitude, pitching up and down, and banking. One witness saw the top of the wings as if the airplane was vertical before it turned southeast. Several witnesses heard good engine sounds. Other witnesses saw the airplane in a steep nose-down, left descending spiral just before impact, spiraling one and a half to three times before descending below trees, followed by black smoke.
Flight track data from the Minneapolis St. Paul Metropolitan Airport Commission showed the airplane departed runway 28R, made a wide climbing right turn to the northeast, leveled off at about 925 ft agl for 10 seconds, then climbed to 1,050 ft agl before entering a descent and being lost on radar.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating, issued on October 12, 1988. His logbook contained entries from May 31, 1987, through August 27, 2016, with only 10.2 hours recorded between 1999 and 2005. No entries were made between 2005 and August 6, 2016. He logged 4.8 hours with a flight instructor in a Jabiru airplane between August 6 and August 27, 2016, completing a flight review. Total flight experience was 312.1 hours. The pilot had no logged time in a Horizon 2 and no tailwheel endorsement. His most recent FAA medical certificate was issued on March 7, 2012.
The flight instructor who flew with the pilot in August 2016 stated they discussed having an experienced pilot conduct the first flight, but the pilot decided to do it himself.
Aircraft Information
The Horizon 2 is a two-place, high-wing, tailwheel-equipped airplane with tandem seating. The structure was primarily wood with fabric skin. It was powered by a 100-horsepower, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled Subaru EA81 engine. The engine logbook indicated a rebuild in March 2015 and an oil cooler installation on May 5, 2017. No engine times were listed. The pilot's build log showed he purchased plans in 1991 and started building; the last entry was June 16, 2015, documenting carburetor and throttle cable adjustments. On June 7, 2017, the pilot ground looped the airplane during high-speed taxi tests, resulting in landing gear damage.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The initial impact point was in a parking lot with scrape marks on the asphalt. The wreckage path from the initial impact to the main wreckage was on a magnetic heading of 30°. A gouge mark about 20 ft farther contained splintered wood. The right wing was wrapped around a pole about 210 ft from the initial impact. Further along were the fuel tanks, engine, fuselage portions, empennage, and propeller hub. Much of the wreckage from the right wing onward was destroyed by fire. Composite propeller blade pieces, plexiglass, and wood were scattered along the path.
The fuselage and cockpit area were destroyed by fire. The main landing gear was separated. The right wing's bottom was destroyed from the wing root to the aileron attachment; top fabric was scorched and melted at the wing root. The flap was in two pieces: inboard separated, outboard attached. The aileron remained intact and attached, with control cables pulled out but attached to the cockpit control column. The left wing was destroyed by fire. The left aileron was separated, and its control cable was found near the burned wing, still attached to the control column.
Fuel tanks were separated and burned. Fuel tank caps were missing, but melted material was visible around the filler neck bases. Inside the left tank, material appeared to be portions of the melted fuel cap. The cockpit fuel selector position could not be determined due to damage.
The empennage frame was heat damaged but intact. Scorched fabric remained on the right elevator. Rudder cables were attached to the bottom of the rudder and tailwheel; continuity from the cockpit to the forward and aft seat right rudder pedals was established. The left rudder pedals were not found, but the left cable was intact with turnbuckles and pedal attachment hardware.
The elevator control push-pull tube was connected at the elevator and cockpit control; the center section was melted, and only portions were found. The elevator trim cable remained attached at the elevator.
The engine was burned and impact-damaged on the right side. The right valve cover was separated; two valve lifters on the right were separated. The left valve cover was in place with intact valves and springs. The oil pan was removed; the engine interior was intact and contained oil. The propeller was separated from the engine; the ring gear was smashed rearward against the case.
One composite propeller blade remained mostly intact and attached to the hub; the butt ends of the other two remained. The spinner was separated, flattened, and exhibited slight torsional bending.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy, attributing the pilot's death to multiple blunt force injuries due to the airplane crash. The FAA's Bioaeronautical Research Sciences Laboratory conducted toxicology tests, which were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, and drugs.