Eberle John S FOKKER DR-1 TRIPLANE N152RB

Summary

On 26 August 2012 at about 15:46 local time, a Eberle John S FOKKER DR-1 TRIPLANE registered N152RB, operated by Andrew J Parks, was involved in an accident near Parker, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 August 2012 at 15:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Parker, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.5539, -104.7339

Aircraft

Eberle John S FOKKER DR-1 TRIPLANE

Registration

N152RB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Andrew J Parks

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Englewood → Fort Lupton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12FA572

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's loss of control of the airplane due to the airplane’s reduced climb performance during high density altitude operations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed the airport, made a left turn to the east, and climbed to an altitude of 6,700 feet mean sea level (msl) at a groundspeed of about 93 knots. About 5 minutes after departing the airport, the airplane initiated a left descending turn and disappeared off radar. Two witnesses who lived near the accident site heard the airplane approach. One witness said the engine sounded normal. As they went outside to see the airplane, the witnesses saw the airplane go over their house at a low altitude, and one witness went to the back of the house to continue to watch the airplane. After he got to the back of his house, the witness saw the airplane in a tight left descending spiral in about a 45-degree nose-down pitch angle. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. A review of weather conditions at the time of the accident revealed that the density altitude was about 8,250 feet. The elevation at the accident site was 6,170 feet msl. The high density altitude would have reduced the airplane’s climb performance by about 67 percent, which could explain the airplane’s reduced climb performance. When the pilot was interviewed 7 months after the accident occurred, he said he could not recall anything that occurred on the day of the accident. However, it is likely that the airplane stalled as a result of reduced airspeed and climb performance while operating at a high density altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.