Reichel LANCAIR 360 N79Y

Summary

On 28 January 2006 at about 21:10 local time, a Reichel LANCAIR 360 registered N79Y was involved in an accident near Santa Ynez, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 January 2006 at 21:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Ynez, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Ynez (IZA)

Coordinates

34.5953, -120.0842

Aircraft

Reichel LANCAIR 360

Registration

N79Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Ynez → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06LA096

1 person died.

Loss of airplane control for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted a soft dirt open field near the airport while in an uncontrolled descent. It was destroyed by impact forces and post impact ground fire. A ground-based witness, who also was a pilot, reported that he heard the airplane during its approach to the airport. The witness stated that the airplane's engine was revved up and the engine sounded "firewalled." No evidence of any catastrophic preimpact engine failure was observed during the Federal Aviation Administration's on-scene examination of the wreckage. The FAA inspector reported that, based upon the distribution of wreckage and the ground scar signatures, it appeared that the airplane impacted with a significant right wing down attitude and cartwheeled as it came to rest. A post impact fire destroyed the airplane and no findings could be made regarding the preimpact integrity of the control system. The pilot was the experimental airplane's owner-builder. Approximately 3 months before the crash, the pilot had experienced a mishap when oil pressure was lost. The propeller went into an uncommanded flat pitch, and the pilot experienced a runaway propeller when the engine revved up. The pilot returned to the Santa Ynez Airport, landed hard, and the propeller struck the ground damaging its tips. Thereafter, the pilot shortened the propeller by 1.5 to 2.0 inches. The pilot also made additional repairs to his airplane. The accident occurred during the pilot's next flight. The cause of the apparent runaway propeller was not determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.