NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On September 8, 2012, about 1800 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur built Schoepflin DA-4-550 airplane (super buccaneer), N550YS, while maneuvering over a private residence, impacted the ground near Viola, Idaho. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a business flight. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage in the post impact fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan was filed.

Responding law enforcement personnel from the Latah County Sheriff's Department reported that the pilot had been hired to do a flyby during a Republican gathering. For some unknown reason, the airplane began circling the group and the pilot was dropping streamers from the airplane.

Witnesses report that the pilot was flying low, about 800 feet above ground level (agl), over a large crowd. The airplane appeared to be in slow flight, and as the airplane entered into a steep turn, the airplane stalled and spun to the ground. Witnesses also reported that the engine was running and sounded "strong."

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident, and reported that the majority of the airplane had burned in the postimpact fire. The engine was recovered for further examination.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 56, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea. He held a third-class medical issued on September 6, 2011, with the restriction that he must wear corrective lenses for distant vision, and have glasses for near vision.

According to the pilot Airman and Medical Records Center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the pilot reported on his most recent medical application dated September 6, 2011, a total time of 1,800 total flight hours with 0 hours logged in the prior 6 months. At the pilot's previous medical, dated March 26, 2008, the pilot reported a total time of 1,868 hours with 75 hours logged in the prior 6 months.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane logbooks were not made available to the NTSB; however, the FAA reviewed the logbooks. The last annual inspection was on March 4, 2010. The FAA also reported that the Continental Motors, Inc., (CMI) engine, model IO-550-A7B, serial number 280445, was rebuilt and zero-timed by CMI on December 6, 1996.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The airplane came to rest on a hill slope in a horse pasture. All flight control components of the airplane were identified at the accident site, and the burned area was about 100 yards in diameter with the airplane in the center. The majority of the airplane was thermally destroyed. The right wing remained intact, and the left wing was mostly thermally destroyed by the postimpact fire. The propeller assembly was partially separated from the crankshaft, but remained in its relative normal position at the accident site; one of the three propeller blades showed S-bending deformation, the other two propeller blade were not visible in the wreckage.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

According to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), they made several attempts to contact the Latah County Coroner's department to obtain tissue samples for a toxicology analysis, and an autopsy report. Initial report from the coroner's office was that there were not enough remains to complete a full autopsy report.

TEST AND RESEARCH

An engine inspection was performed on September 11, 2012, at Discount Aircraft Salvage in Deer Park, Washington. At the conclusion of the examination, no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure was found that would have prevented normal operation and production of horsepower.

A visual inspection of the engine revealed thermal and impact damage. The left and right magnetos were not recovered. The ignition harness sustained thermal damage. According to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug chart AV-27, the spark plug electrodes exhibited normal, worn out signatures, and the spark plugs had dark colored combustion spots. The fuel pump was not recovered; the fuel manifold valve sustained thermal damage. The safety wire remained partially intact. Disassembly of the fuel manifold valve revealed that the screen and body of the manifold was free of debris. The fuel nozzles and lines sustained thermal and impact damage; the nozzles were partially obstructed by soot. The throttle body/metering unit was not recovered. The oil pump sustained thermal damage. The oil sump and oil cooler were not recovered. The oil pick-up tube and screen sustained thermal and impact damage; however, the screen was free of debris.

The cylinders sustained thermal damage, and the valve covers were partially melted. The combustion chambers were inspected with a lighted borescope via the top spark plug holes. The piston faces, valve heads, combustion chambers, and lower spark plugs were unremarkable. The accessory gears sustained thermal and impact damage. The starter, vacuum pump, propeller, and propeller governor were not recovered with the engine, and the propeller was not examined. The starter adaptor and the alternator sustained thermal damage; the starter adaptor sustained impact damage as well.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control while maneuvering, resulting in an aerodynamic stall/spin with insufficient altitude to recover.