Lewis Keith O VIGGENITE N20VV

Summary

On 8 July 2009 at about 18:15 local time, a Lewis Keith O VIGGENITE registered N20VV was involved in an accident near Chesterfield, Missouri, 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

8 July 2009 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesterfield, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Spirit of St. Louis (SUS)

Coordinates

38.6622, -90.6519

Aircraft

Lewis Keith O VIGGENITE

Registration

N20VV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chesterfield → Chesterfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA423

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power for unknown reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while in the airport traffic pattern, the airplane's engine lost power just after completing a turn from the crosswind leg to the downwind leg of the pattern. At the time of the engine failure the airplane was about 1,100 feet above mean sea level (approximately 630 feet above ground level). The pilot reported that the airplane abruptly pitched up and he attempted one restart to no avail. He reported that the airplane continued to decelerate with full forward stick pressure. In order to keep the airplane from stalling the pilot rolled the airplane inverted and pulled back on the stick to lower the nose of the airplane. He then rolled the airplane back upright and pulled back to arrest the descent before contacting trees. The pilot reported that the homebuilt airplane is an all aluminum version of the Vari-Viggen design and believed that the pitch up following the loss of power was due to the high thrust line location of the pusher engine configuration. The airplane was powered by a converted Mazda rotary automobile engine. An examination of the engine and fuel system revealed sufficient fuel and fuel within the fuel line to the carburetor. A visual examination of the engine revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.