MACLEOD HOMEBUILT — Springfield, OH

What happened

The private pilot departed the grass airstrip on a personal local flight in the single-seat experimental, amateur-built airplane. Two witnesses saw the airplane flying low about treetop height and then saw its nose pitch up followed by the airplane descending to ground impact. Another witness heard a loud engine, looked up, and saw the airplane in a nose dive; he heard the engine until just before the airplane impacted the ground. The witness observations were consistent with the pilot failing to maintain control of the airplane, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall. Because the airplane was flying low, there was not enough altitude for the pilot to recover the airplane from the stall.

Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller blades showed no rotational damage, consistent with the engine not producing power at impact. However, a witness reported hearing the engine during descent until just prior to impact. The investigation could not determine if the engine lost power during descent or if the pilot reduced power prior to impact.

The shoulder harness assembly was found behind the forward bulkhead, unable to be accessed by the pilot. Additionally, the shoulder harness was found wrapped around the rudder cable. However, the wear on the shoulder harness was consistent with having been wrapped around the rudder cables for a while indicating it did not likely affect the operation of the rudder.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.