Waco GXE N8564

Summary

On 13 September 2021 at about 18:05 local time, a Waco GXE registered N8564 was involved in an accident near Burt, New York, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 September 2021 at 18:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Burt, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Olcott-Newfane (D80)

Coordinates

43.3067, -78.7451

Aircraft

Waco GXE

Registration

N8564

Category

Airplane

Year built

1929

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA356

Nobody was injured.

The improper magneto timing, which resulted in the engine’s inability to produce full power during the takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident flight was the vintage biplane’s first since it had been restored 2 years prior. During takeoff, once the airplane was in ground effect, the pilot described that the airplane would not climb any further even though the engine was producing power. The pilot elected to land the airplane in a nearby field and during the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the magnetos were set to fire about 7° away from the proper position in order to obtain full engine power. Furthermore, a historical reference handbook for the vintage engine stated that the magnetos needed to have an external lever connected to a control in the cockpit to mechanically vary the magneto to engine timing while the engine was running. The magnetos installed on the accident airplane did not have these controls installed. Based on this information, it is likely the engine could not produce full power as a result of the incorrect magneto timing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.