Greene R/Greene S RANS S 17 N117BE

Summary

On 22 August 2017 at about 00:45 local time, a Greene R/Greene S RANS S 17 registered N117BE was involved in an accident near Erie, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and 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

22 August 2017 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Erie, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Erie Muni (EIK)

Coordinates

40.0103, -105.0481

Aircraft

Greene R/Greene S RANS S 17

Registration

N117BE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Erie → Erie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA327

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain control following a rejected takeoff for a perceived loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of training and experience in the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noncertificated pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane reported that, during the initial climb, the engine did not seem to be producing full power, so he attempted to reject the takeoff and land back on the runway. During the landing, the wind pushed the airplane to the right, the left wing rose, and the right wing contacted the ground. The airplane spun around and came to rest upright. The pilot had not flown since 2010 and had no more than 2 hours of recent flight experience. The pilot stated that he had checked the spark plugs before the accident flight and thought that he did not properly install the plugs; however, following the accident, the pilot ran the engine several times and the engine appeared to produce power. The wind conditions at the time of the accident would have resulted in a left quartering tailwind during landing. This, coupled with the density altitude of about 7,300 ft, would have significantly decreased the airplane's performance and could have given the perception to the noncertificated, inexperienced pilot that the engine had experienced a partial loss of power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.