Mathias Linda B LIGHTNING N59JL

Summary

On 10 December 2016 at about 17:19 local time, a Mathias Linda B LIGHTNING registered N59JL was involved in an accident near Franklin, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 December 2016 at 17:19

Classification

Accident

Location

Franklin, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Franklin Municipal-John Beverl (FKN)

Coordinates

36.6464, -76.9181

Aircraft

Mathias Linda B LIGHTNING

Registration

N59JL

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Franklin → Franklin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA067

1 person was seriously injured.

A partial loss of engine power due to pre-ignition damage to the No. 2 cylinder piston and the pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a local personal flight with a pilot-rated passenger in the experimental, amateur-built airplane. During the initial climb, when the airplane was at 100 ft above ground level (agl), the pilot felt a vibration that soon stopped. She continued the takeoff and noted that all exhaust gas temperature (EGT) readings were higher than normal, with the No. 2 cylinder EGT over the maximum red line limit; the engine then lost partial power. She kept full throttle applied, informed her passenger of the discrepancy, and remained in the traffic pattern to return to the airport. While flying about 200 ft agl and turning onto the base leg of the airport traffic pattern, she reduced the throttle to slow the airplane from 80 to 75 mph; at that moment, the left wing dropped immediately, which she later indicated was consistent with an aerodynamic stall although she did not feel any airframe buffet. The airplane impacted and remained suspended in trees a few feet off the ground.   Postaccident examination of the engine revealed damage to the No. 2 cylinder piston consistent with pre-ignition. This damage was likely the source of the partial loss of engine power. While the pilot was using an oil additive, the investigation could not determine whether the additive contributed to pre-ignition. The airplane was not equipped with stall warning protection. Although the pilot/builder had accrued about 290 flight hours in the accident airplane and should have been familiar with its aerodynamic stall characteristics, stall warning protection could have alerted the pilot to an impending stall so that she could take action to avoid the stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.