NTSB Factual Report

On October 12, 2003, at 1730 eastern daylight time, a McCan Velox revolution II experimental airplane, N296VX, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 aerobatic flight, collided with a hangar while maneuvering in the vicinity of Lake Norman Airpark, Mooresville, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed and there was a post-crash fire. The airline transport rated pilot reported minor injuries. The flight originated from Lake Norman Airpark, Mooresville, North Carolina, on October 12, 2003, at 1645.

The pilot stated he entered a flat spin at 4,000 feet in the vicinity of the airpark. He kept the airplane in the flat spin too long and realized that he had insufficient altitude to recover the airplane before it collided with the ground, and he was too low to bail out. He raised the nose to a vertical attitude and applied full power. The airplane collided with a hangar and a post-crash fire ensued. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed no apparent mechanical failures.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision to conduct an aerobatic maneuver at an altitude too low to initiate a recovery.