Superior CULVER LFA N37888

Summary

On 28 April 2022 at about 16:40 local time, a Superior CULVER LFA registered N37888 was involved in an accident near Syracuse, Kansas, 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

28 April 2022 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Syracuse, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Syracuse-Hamilton County Munic (3K3)

Coordinates

37.9986, -101.7476

Aircraft

Superior CULVER LFA

Registration

N37888

Category

Airplane

Year built

1941

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA185

1 person died.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall while returning to the airport following a partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a flight of an airplane after being rebuilt, the engine began to run rough when the airplane was about 150 ft above ground level. Witnesses observed the airplane make a steep left turn in a nose high attitude back toward the direction of the runway. The left wing subsequently dropped, and the airplane entered a rapid descent until it impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. The airplane was largely consumed by a post-crash fire. During a postaccident examination, there were no mechanical anomalies found that would have precluded normal operation. However, the extent of the post-crash fire prevented an examination of the fuel and ignition systems. When the temperature and dewpoint were plotted on a carburetor icing probability chart, the result was that the airplane was operating in conditions that were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power. The investigation was unable to determine if this contributed to the engine roughness. It is likely that the pilot exceeded the critical angle of attack for the airplane as he was returning to the airport to make a precautionary landing when the engine began running rough.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.