Eipper QUICKSILVER N350FT

Summary

On 14 December 2018 at about 12:40 local time, a Eipper QUICKSILVER registered N350FT was involved in an accident near Fredericksburg, Virginia, 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

14 December 2018 at 12:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Shannon (EZF)

Coordinates

38.2592, -77.4444

Aircraft

Eipper QUICKSILVER

Registration

N350FT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fredericksburg → Fredericksburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19FA066

1 person died.

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which led to an aerodynamic stall while turning in the traffic pattern at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was operating an experimental amateur-built airplane on a personal flight in the airport traffic pattern. Video and audio recovered from an airframe-mounted camera, along with track data recorded by two onboard GPS receivers, revealed that, during the initial climb, the throttle was reduced, and then increased back to climb engine power for the upwind and crosswind legs of the traffic pattern. As the airplane turned toward the downwind leg at an altitude of about 300 feet, the throttle was reduced, increased briefly, and then was reduced again to what sounded consistent with an idle setting. The video and GPS track data showed that rather than aligning with the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane continued in a tightening, steepening, left turn with the engine at idle power. The airplane's last GPS-recorded position was over the accident site. The GPS data also showed that the airplane's groundspeed during the turn was near the airplane's published/placarded stall speeds. Just before ground impact, the video camera recorded a "pop" sound consistent with activation of the airplane's ballistic recovery system parachute. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had purchased the airplane about 3 months before the accident. At the time of purchase, the airplane had an open-cockpit, tubular-framed configuration. The pilot subsequently enclosed the open cockpit using PVC tubing, sheets of plexiglass, and zip ties. The investigation could not determine whether the cockpit modifications affected the handling and stall characteristics of the airplane. These modifications notwithstanding, the GPS data showed that the airplane was operating at or near its stall speed, had entered a tight left turn, and had likely encountered an aerodynamic stall before it descended to ground impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.