Mueller STEWART HEADWIND B N64MF

Summary

On 1 July 2005 at about 00:15 local time, a Mueller STEWART HEADWIND B registered N64MF was involved in an accident near Cloverdale, Indiana, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 July 2005 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Cloverdale, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

39.5322, -86.8322

Aircraft

Mueller STEWART HEADWIND B

Registration

N64MF

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cloverdale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA161

1 person had minor injuries.

The fuel starvation leading to the loss of engine power during takeoff. Factors were the pilot's insufficient information on the fuel system and the sign that had to be circumnavigated during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The experimental amateur-built airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain during a forced landing following an in-flight loss of engine power on initial climb. The pilot stated, "At [approximately] 250 [feet above ground level] on the climb and over the departure end of the runway, the engine cut out. I immediately leveled off, applied carb heat [and] reduced throttle; the engine 'caught' and I began a left bank turn to provide room for a right turn to land back on our strip; simultaneously, I attempted to gain altitude; the engine cut out again. ... I had insufficient altitude and airspeed to make it over the sign and could not increase my right bank angle, so I went to the left (north) of the sign and impacted the ground at minimum airspeed next to the sign." The engine was test run and no pre-impact anomalies were found with the engine or airframe. The pilot's safety recommendation stated, "This [aircraft] was a recently purchased 'experimental' [aircraft]. During the investigation, we discovered the fuel tanks had only one outlet - in the center on the end of each tank, meaning 1/2 fuel level or less was insufficient in a climb or glide attitude. Had that info been available, the accident could have been avoided!"

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.