Mechanical & Engine Failure · NTSB CEN16LA022
DELWYN SCHMIDT No model — Bennington, KS
| Date | October 25, 2015 |
| Location | Bennington, KS |
| Aircraft | DELWYN SCHMIDT No model (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Emergency descent Attempted remediation/recovery |
| Pilot age | 62 |
| Pilot total time | 450 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
The unregistered airplane’s loss of engine power due to piston seizure. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s loss of airplane control while maneuvering back to the runway.
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Power plant-(general)-Malfunction - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
The private pilot taxied out and departed for the personal flight from a private grass runway in an unregistered homebuilt airplane. A witness reported that, when the airplane reached 150 ft above the ground, the engine stopped. The pilot then turned the airplane back toward the runway, and it then dropped and impacted terrain.
The airplane did not have an airworthiness certificate, and no maintenance records were found. Examination of the engine pistons found evidence of scoring, consistent with piston seizure. The accident is consistent with a loss of engine power due to piston seizure and with the pilot subsequently losing airplane control while maneuvering back to the runway.