Express 2000RG — Cheyenne, WY, 2022

Express 2000RG — Cheyenne, WY

1 fatal High-time pilot

Date	May 30, 2022
Location	Cheyenne, WY
Aircraft	Express 2000RG (amateur-built)
Purpose of flight	Personal
Conditions	Day · Visual Meteorological Cond
Phase / occurrence	Initial climb Unknown or undetermined
Pilot age	59
Pilot total time	12,267 hrs · High time
Time in type	700 hrs
Fatalities	1

Probable cause

The pilot's inability to maintain proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while managing a loss of engine power and inflight fire, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing factors to the accident were the loss of engine power and the in-flight fire.

NTSB findings

Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded
Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (turbine/turboprop)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined
Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

What happened

Shortly after departure, the pilot informed air traffic control that he had an engine failure, and the airplane entered a left turn back toward the airport. The pilot then told the controller that he was not going to be able to make it back to the airport and he was going to land in a field. The pilot then reported that he had a fire onboard the airplane. The airplane impacted the ground in a storage yard and slid into a storage unit. The airplane was destroyed by impact and fire damage.

A performance study revealed that, while in the turn to the field, the airplane banked right about 75° with an increase in pitch from 0° to about 11° nose up at an altitude of about 400 ft above the ground. The airplane exceeded the critical angle of attack, entered an accelerated stall, and departed controlled flight. It is likely that due to the inflight fire and the loss of engine power, the pilot was unable to maintain control of the airplane during the last portion of the flight.

Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded operations; however, the examination was limited due to impact and fire damage. The reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined. Due to the postimpact fire, the source of ignition for the inflight fire could not be determined.

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