Luscombe 8A N71823

Summary

On 1 November 2010 at about 20:30 local time, a Luscombe 8A registered N71823 was involved in an accident near Schaumburg, Illinois, 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

1 November 2010 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Schaumburg, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Schaumburg Regional Airport (06C)

Coordinates

41.9894, -88.1011

Aircraft

Luscombe 8A

Registration

N71823

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Schaumburg → Sturtevant

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11LA049

1 person died.

The pilot did not maintain airspeed following a loss of engine power during takeoff climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the loss of engine power due to the unlocked engine primer.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported seeing the airplane takeoff and climb to about 150 feet above the ground. At that point, the sound from the engine ceased, and the airplane stalled and spun to the left making one-half revolution before striking the ground. Examination of the airframe, control system, and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the cockpit engine controls showed that the carburetor heat was off and the engine primer was unlocked and pulled out. Although the weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing, they were not in the range likely to result in serious carburetor icing. Examination of the spark plugs indicated a rich mixture condition. The primer position and the condition of the spark plugs indicate that the engine power loss was likely due to an overly rich mixture resulting from excess fuel being pulled through the primer into the engine’s intake system when takeoff power was applied. Since the purpose of the primer is to assist in starting a cold engine, it is possible the pilot used the primer when starting the engine and did not ensure that it was in and locked before initiating take off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.