Schendl MUSTANG II N152AS

Summary

On 25 June 2009 at about 00:41 local time, a Schendl MUSTANG II registered N152AS was involved in an accident near West Union, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 June 2009 at 00:41

Classification

Accident

Location

West Union, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Alexander Salamon Airport (KAMT)

Coordinates

38.8514, -83.5664

Aircraft

Schendl MUSTANG II

Registration

N152AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Union → West Union

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09LA385

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin at a low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident occurred during an initial flight test of the experimental amateur-built airplane. On the day of the accident, the pilot was observed working on the airplane engine and completing several taxi tests before departing on the accident flight. Several witnesses reported seeing the airplane on initial climb from the runway when the engine began running rough. One witness reported seeing smoke trail from the airplane. The airplane was observed turning back toward the airport before entering a nose-down, spiraling descent until impact with the ground. A postimpact fire destroyed the fuselage cabin and cockpit. No anomalies were noted during the postaccident examination that would have resulted in the loss of engine power or the subsequent loss of airplane control. The drug Butalbital was detected in the pilot's blood and liver samples; however, the toxicological levels were significantly less than a typical therapeutic dose and would likely not have resulted in any impairment. The witness’s description of the event was consistent with the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall/spin while attempting to return to the airport after encountering a loss of engine power during initial climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.