Grice AVID FLYER N312GR

Summary

On 6 August 2001 at about 14:30 local time, a Grice AVID FLYER registered N312GR was involved in an accident near Belle Fourche, South Dakota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 August 2001 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Belle Fourche, South Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Belle Fourche Municipal (EFC)

Coordinates

44.6606, -103.8506

Aircraft

Grice AVID FLYER

Registration

N312GR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Belle Fourche → Belle Fourche

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI01LA262

Nobody was injured.

The pilot failed to maintain aircraft control during the forced landing. A factor associated with the accident was the excessive adjustment that the pilot made to the propeller's pitch prior to the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted the terrain during an aborted takeoff. The pilot reported the purpose of the flight was to check the propeller pitch because he had adjusted it. He reported that airplane was "sluggish" during the initial takeoff climb so he leveled off. He reported he checked the engine temperature and rpm, and the engine was close to "over revving." The pilot reported that because he had difficulty maintaining altitude, he decided to abort the takeoff by turning left into the wind so he could land on the grass alongside the runway. The pilot reported the airplane contacted the grass "…with a strong side load on the landing gear." Post accident inspection of the airplane revealed the propeller had been adjusted to too high of a pitch setting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.