Debay DRAGONFLY MARK II N25JD

Summary

On 3 July 2003 at about 03:42 local time, a Debay DRAGONFLY MARK II registered N25JD was involved in an accident near Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 July 2003 at 03:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Flying Cloud (FCM)

Coordinates

44.9207, -93.3997

Aircraft

Debay DRAGONFLY MARK II

Registration

N25JD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Eden Prairie → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03LA192

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's intentional operation of the airplane with a known deficiency with regard to an improper carburetor calibration that led to the loss of engine power. The improperly calibrated carburetor and the trees were contributing factors.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was seriously injured and the experimental amateur-built airplane was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power after takeoff. The amateur-built airplane was powered by a Volkswagen derived automobile engine with capacitive discharge ignition and a slide type carburetor. According to the manufacturer, the carburetor is not susceptible to carburetor icing because it does not incorporate a venturi. During an interview, the pilot stated that he had aircraft control during the forced landing. He stated that he had previous problems with the carburetor, and his internet website also listed problems, repairs and modifications made to the carburetor. The website indicated that the carburetor needle had been replaced, the carburetor slide had been modified and the throttle cable had been replaced. The website indicated that the mixture was "sensitive" and leaning was required in cruise flight or the "engine sputters from being too rich!" The website also states that the mixture during landing rollout "seems quite rich and [the engine] likes to die out" A section of the website titled "Repairs / Improvements to be made but are not stopping flight", listed "Continue to refine mixture / carb settings" as a listed item. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the engine could be rotated, valve train continuity was confirmed and each cylinder produced "thumb compression." The ignition system was not tested. The linkages to the carburetor were damaged during the impact; however, no pre-impact defects could be found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.