MacLeod HOMEBUILT N62888

Summary

On 19 February 2017 at about 21:03 local time, a MacLeod HOMEBUILT registered N62888 was involved in an accident near Springfield, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 February 2017 at 21:03

Classification

Accident

Location

Springfield, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

39.9156, -83.7044

Aircraft

MacLeod HOMEBUILT

Registration

N62888

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Springfield → Springfield

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17FA108

1 person died.

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at an altitude too low for a safe recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed the grass airstrip on a personal local flight in the single-seat experimental, amateur-built airplane. Two witnesses saw the airplane flying low about treetop height and then saw its nose pitch up followed by the airplane descending to ground impact. Another witness heard a loud engine, looked up, and saw the airplane in a nose dive; he heard the engine until just before the airplane impacted the ground. The witness observations were consistent with the pilot failing to maintain control of the airplane, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall. Because the airplane was flying low, there was not enough altitude for the pilot to recover the airplane from the stall. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller blades showed no rotational damage, consistent with the engine not producing power at impact. However, a witness reported hearing the engine during descent until just prior to impact. The investigation could not determine if the engine lost power during descent or if the pilot reduced power prior to impact. The shoulder harness assembly was found behind the forward bulkhead, unable to be accessed by the pilot. Additionally, the shoulder harness was found wrapped around the rudder cable. However, the wear on the shoulder harness was consistent with having been wrapped around the rudder cables for a while indicating it did not likely affect the operation of the rudder.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.