History of Flight
On April 22, 2019, at about 0915 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Wheeler Express Series 2000, registration N625J, was destroyed in an accident near Cleveland, North Carolina. The pilot received fatal injuries. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
The pilot planned to depart Statesville Regional Airport (SVH) in Statesville, North Carolina, and fly to Twin Lakes Airport (8A7) in Mocksville, North Carolina, for an avionics upgrade. The pilot departed SVH at 0901. The airplane owner observed the departure on runway 28, watched the airplane travel west, then turn east before losing sight of it. A witness located 4.5 miles northeast of SVH reported hearing an engine around 0900 and saw the airplane with the right wingtip down; it then rolled quickly inverted while heading eastward. Another witness 1 mile east of the accident site reported hearing loud engine noises with changing pitch around 0910 and saw an object heading straight down; it fell below the tree line and did not reappear. The accident airplane’s owner arrived at 8A7 about 1040 and, finding the airplane absent, made unsuccessful phone calls to the pilot. He returned to SVH while other pilots searched by air. At 1300, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert notice. The airplane was found in a field 4 hours later.
Airplane Information
The Owner’s Flight Manual, Maneuver Limits, stated that aerobatics that may impose high loads should not be attempted, noting the airplane is aerodynamically clean and will build speed with the nose down. Intentional spins were prohibited.
Wreckage and Impact Information
All major components were found at the accident site. Both wings were highly fragmented, detached from the fuselage, with flaps and ailerons completely separated. Upper and lower wing skins were fragmented. The empennage was displaced upward and forward, with the rudder, vertical stabilizer, and horizontal stabilizer fragmented. Control continuity was confirmed from all flight control surfaces to cockpit controls through overload breaks and fractures. The cockpit throttle control assembly was separated; the throttle lever was extended fully aft (idle position) and the shaft handle bent about 90° toward the instrument panel. The mixture control was in the full-forward, full-rich position.
The engine crankcase was broken in multiple locations with significant impact damage. All six cylinders remained attached, though Nos. 5 and 6 were only partially attached. Most accessory components were separated except fuel pump, oil pump, and starter adapter. One magneto and most of the throttle and fuel metering assembly were missing. The propeller hub remained intact with impact damage. Two of three blades were broken from the hub; one blade was not found. The attached blade showed S-bending, twisting, and leading-edge gouging, with a large tip portion separated and found in the impact crater. The other broken blade had tip separation, twisting, and leading-edge gouging. Both entry door locking pins were in the closed/locked position.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Raleigh, North Carolina, determined the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing of the pilot’s tissue specimens by the FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Laboratory detected 0.053 grams per heptagram of ethanol in muscle tissue but not in liver. Naproxen (Aleve) was detected in muscle and liver. Ranitidine (Zantac) was detected in muscle. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) was detected in muscle and liver. No blood was available for testing.