Klemme William H ZENITH CH 701 N701KC

Summary

On 15 July 2010 at about 18:30 local time, a Klemme William H ZENITH CH 701 registered N701KC, operated by Klemme William H, was involved in an accident near Iowa Falls, Iowa, 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

15 July 2010 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Iowa Falls Municipal (IFA)

Coordinates

42.4736, -93.2722

Aircraft

Klemme William H ZENITH CH 701

Registration

N701KC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Klemme William H

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Iowa Falls → Iowa Falls

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA401

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed while on final approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the model of airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident occurred on the first test flight following the completion of the amateur-built airplane. The pilot performed high-speed taxi runs followed by a takeoff. The pilot’s flight instructor, who was at the airport watching, observed the airplane southwest of the airport in a spin, from which it recovered. The pilot then flew back to the airport, entered the traffic pattern, and made a radio call that he was going to land. On final approach the airplane appeared to be unstable. The pilot added power and performed a go-around. The airplane came around again for another approach and landing. The airplane appeared to be stable in the traffic pattern until it was on final approach, when it appeared to be unstable as if it were in slow flight. When the airplane was about 200 feet above the ground, the engine noise decreased and the nose immediately dropped along with the right wing. The airplane then impacted terrain short of the approach end of the runway. A postcrash examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any mechanical failures or malfunctions, nor did the pilot mention any problems with the airplane during his radio calls. The pilot had recently started flying again after not having flown since 1984. He had flown 5 hours with a flight instructor in another make and model of airplane during the 7 months prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.