NTSB Factual Report

On July 4, 1999, about 2010 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Kolb Mark III, N901JL, struck the surface of Shenango Lake, Clark, Pennsylvania. The non-certificated pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which originated from Brookfield Airpark, Brookfield, Ohio. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to interviews with inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the local police, the airplane had been kept at Brookfield Airpark. The last condition inspection had been completed on September 25, 1996. The owner had removed the certificate of registration and airworthiness from the airplane. He also reported that the key to the airplane and the helmets used by the pilot and passenger, were obtained from inside of a locked garage.

The airport manager reported that about 1830 to 1845, he observed the airplane depart to the south, and then cross over the field to the north, after which he lost sight of the airplane.

A witness stated:

"...they had been on the water about 15 minutes when coming from under the causeway they saw the aircraft coming toward the causeway and pull up just missing the causeway. The aircraft started to loop and on the way down did not pull-up. The motor was running the same all the time...[the witness] stated that the boat had to be slowed down or it would have been hit by the aircraft."

Another witness stated:

"...he was on the west side of the causeway which crosses the Shenango Lake, when the aircraft later identified as N901JL start[ed] diving at the boats on the lake as low as 6 feet off the water...[the witness] then went under the causeway in order to get away from the plane...[the witness] stated that it was like the aircraft followed his boat and at the last moment the pilot must have seen the electric wires on the causeway and in order to avoid the wires, the pilot pulled the aircraft straight up; however, the aircraft continued the whole way around in a loop with a maximum height of no more than 300 feet and then crashed in a near vertical attitude into the lake...[the witness] stated the engine never stalled and he believed it was at full power throughout the loop.

The airplane was removed from the lake on the north side, between the two bridges. Examination of the wreckage by inspectors from the FAA revealed flight control continuity was present. Fuel was found in the fuel tanks, the fuel lines between the fuel tanks and the carburetors, and in the carburetors. The fuselage/tail boom was bent. One blade of the propeller was fractured and not recovered. One other blade had leading edge impact damage and rotation scoring.

A check of the FAA Airman Data Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, failed to find any record of either individual having held an FAA Airman Certificate or FAA Airman Medical Certificate.

The airport manager at Brookfield reported that he had previously observed the person identified as the pilot, flying in ultra-lites with other pilots.

Toxicological testing conducted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was negative for alcohol on both occupants.

Autopsies were conducted on the occupants July 5, 1999, for the Office of the County Coroner, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's improper decision to perform an aerobatic maneuver with inadequate altitude for recovery/clearance.