Pietenpol AIRCAMPER N929DH

Summary

On 20 August 2023 at about 13:00 local time, a Pietenpol AIRCAMPER registered N929DH was involved in an accident near Hanover, Illinois, 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

20 August 2023 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hanover, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

42.2893, -90.2933

Aircraft

Pietenpol AIRCAMPER

Registration

N929DH

Category

Airplane

Year built

2010

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Monticello → Poplar Grove

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA372

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall during an attempted forced landing at low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, about 45 minutes after takeoff, the engine began to lose power and he attempted a forced landing to a hayfield. As the airplane descended toward the hayfield, the pilot allowed the airspeed to decrease. The airplane stalled and impacted a cornfield, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. Postaccident examination of the fuel system revealed that the fuel cap was loosely installed, and the sight glass indicated the fuel tank was nearly full. Fuel samples from the gascolator contained an unidentified white particulate, with no water detected. The throttle cable was disconnected at the carburetor; this was likely due to the fuselage separation during impact. Examination of the engine revealed no evidence of pre-impact failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the fuel system revealed only a small amount of fuel in the carburetor bowl; however, it could not be determined whether that resulted from impact or an in-flight lack of fuel delivery to the carburetor. Although the FAA’s Carburetor Icing Chart revealed that the reported temperature and dew point conditions were conducive to the formation of carburetor icing at glide and cruise power, the investigation could not determine that the loss of engine power resulted from the formation of carburetor icing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.