Corvus CARONE MK 1 N51299

Summary

On 23 July 2009 at about 23:15 local time, a Corvus CARONE MK 1 registered N51299, operated by Benham Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Lee's Summit, 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

23 July 2009 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Lee's Summit Municipal Airport (LXT)

Coordinates

38.9558, -94.3806

Aircraft

Corvus CARONE MK 1

Registration

N51299

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Benham Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lee's Summit → Lee's Summit

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA468

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane had been defueled and shipped to the airport with its wings removed. The wings were reinstalled and the airplane fueled with 2-3 gallons of fuel for an engine run prior to the pilot's arrival. The pilot taxied the airplane and obtained 19 gallons of fuel prior to departing on a maintenance test flight that was to remain in the traffic pattern to perform multiple touch and go landings prior to departing for another airport. The pilot completed one takeoff and landing and no mechanical anomalies were reported. The pilot then performed a second takeoff during which the airplane experienced a momentary drop in engine power while climbing through 300 feet above ground level followed an additional momentary drop in power while the airplane was on the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern. The engine experienced another drop in engine power and then backfired before experiencing a total loss of power. The pilot then performed a forced landing on a down sloping field with tall grass. Both wing structures were damaged resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot was uninjured.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.