Bulfer James G GENESIS N105BJ

Summary

On 6 September 2021 at about 15:30 local time, a Bulfer James G GENESIS registered N105BJ was involved in an accident near Fairmont, Minnesota, United States. 2 people were 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

6 September 2021 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairmont, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Fairmont Muni (FRM)

Coordinates

43.6672, -94.4202

Aircraft

Bulfer James G GENESIS

Registration

N105BJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1996

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

CEN21LA401

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during a forced landing, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the loss of power due to the failure of the engine’s drive belt.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger were conducting a local personal flight in the experimental amateur-built airplane. While on the base leg of the traffic pattern, the engine’s drive belt failed and was ejected from the airplane. During the ensuing forced landing, the pilot allowed the airspeed to decay, and the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall and descended into trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The airplane’s maintenance records revealed that the drive belt was last replaced about 20 years ago. The pilot had completed a maintenance inspection about 2 months before the accident and a preflight inspection before the flight; he did not notice anything wrong with the drive belt during the inspections. There were no other mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.