Delwyn Schmidt NO MODEL UNREG

Summary

On 25 October 2015 at about 22:40 local time, a Delwyn Schmidt NO MODEL registered UNREG was involved in an accident near Bennington, Kansas, 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 October 2015 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Bennington, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

39.0311, -97.5922

Aircraft

Delwyn Schmidt NO MODEL

Registration

UNREG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bennington → Bennington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA022

1 person died.

The unregistered airplane’s loss of engine power due to piston seizure. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s loss of airplane control while maneuvering back to the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot taxied out and departed for the personal flight from a private grass runway in an unregistered homebuilt airplane. A witness reported that, when the airplane reached 150 ft above the ground, the engine stopped. The pilot then turned the airplane back toward the runway, and it then dropped and impacted terrain. The airplane did not have an airworthiness certificate, and no maintenance records were found. Examination of the engine pistons found evidence of scoring, consistent with piston seizure. The accident is consistent with a loss of engine power due to piston seizure and with the pilot subsequently losing airplane control while maneuvering back to the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.