What happened
On May 16, 2025, at approximately 16:42 EDT, an experimental, amateur-built Chinook Plus 2, registration N3300K, was destroyed in an accident near Pittstown, New Jersey. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot sustained 1 fatal injury.
Prior to the accident, the pilot performed a high-speed taxi or takeoff attempt on runway 26. During that maneuver, the aircraft ground looped on the grass off the left side of the runway but did not sustain damage. The pilot then taxied back to the start of runway 26 for the actual takeoff.
During the accident takeoff, the aircraft traveled approximately halfway down the 2,550-foot asphalt runway, exceeding the distance required for liftoff. The aircraft drifted to the left, causing the left wing strut to strike and sever a runway light. After climbing, the pilot performed two orbits around the airport before the aircraft descended vertically into a wooded area roughly 1/2-mile north of the airport. The wreckage landed inverted, and a post-crash fire consumed much of the aircraft.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage and found the empennage partially intact but crushed, with the rudder and elevator still attached. Flight control continuity for the elevator and rudder was confirmed, though the cockpit area was destroyed by fire. The left wing frame was found resting vertically against a tree, while the right wing remained intact and inverted.
The engine, a Rotax 912 with 80 horsepower, remained intact and rested inverted. The three-blade wooden propeller was examined; two blades were undamaged, while one was partially separated and buried in the ground. The crankshaft was not seized.
Records indicated the aircraft was assembled from a kit in 2025 and received its experimental airworthiness certificate on April 29, 2025. The pilot's logbook showed 443 total flight hours, primarily in a Piper J3, with no recorded flight experience in the Chinook Plus 2.