Crosley CHRISTEN EAGLE II N222CE

Summary

On 12 December 2004 at about 22:56 local time, a Crosley CHRISTEN EAGLE II registered N222CE was involved in an accident near Morris, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 December 2004 at 22:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Morris, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Ashley Airport (O36)

Coordinates

35.6656, -95.8556

Aircraft

Crosley CHRISTEN EAGLE II

Registration

N222CE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Okmulgee → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW05LA037

2 people died.

The pilot's intentional spin, which was unrecoverable due to exceeded aircraft weight and balance limitations as a result of improper preflight planning/preparation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to a witness, who was in a field approximately 1 mile north of the accident site, the airplane was performing aerobatic maneuvers in the area when the airplane flew straight up into the air, and then "fell over into a flat spin." At this point, the witness estimated that the airplane at an approximate altitude of 5,000 feet above the ground. The witness heard the engine "revving up" as the airplane descended behind a tree line. He then heard the airplane impact the ground and the engine stop running. The 1,040-hour pilot, who was occupying the rear seat of the tandem seating experimental bi-plane, purchased the airplane during the first week of July 2004. Post-accident calculations revealed that the airplane was over maximum gross weight and the center of gravity (CG) was aft of the rearward limit. According to page 3-8 of the Christen Eagle II Airplane Flight Manual, "Any particular Christen Eagle II aircraft will recover from any spin type using standard recovery techniques ONLY IF THE AIRCRAFT IS PROPERLY BALANCED. The CG of the aircraft must be within design limits to ensure safe spin recovery. Any aircraft can be dangerously loaded (CG beyond design limits) making spin recovery extremely difficult or impossible. Weight and balance considerations must be taken seriously and pilots must be absolutely certain that the flight CG of their aircraft is within design limits."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.