NTSB Preliminary Report Issued On Luscombe Incident
The NTSB has released a preliminary report on a forced landing
in Chipley, FL, which resulted in serious injury to the pilot. The
accident occurred June 19, and involved a Luscombe 8A. The NTSB
report reads:
NTSB Identification: ERA09LA357
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, June 19, 2009 in Chipley, FL
Aircraft: LUSCOMBE 8, registration: N41915
Injuries: 1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On June 19, 2009, about 1941 central daylight time, a Luscombe
8A, N41915, was substantially damaged following a loss of engine
power and a subsequent forced landing in Chipley, Florida. The
student pilot/owner was seriously injured. The personal flight was
operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations
Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local
flight, and no flight plan was filed.
File Photo
According to information provided by eyewitnesses and the FAA
inspector who responded to the accident, the pilot had performed
two or three takeoffs from the Crystal Village Airport (2FL0),
Chipley, Florida over the course of the afternoon. After the last
takeoff, the engine appeared to lose power, and the pilot attempted
a forced landing approximately 1/4 mile northeast of the airport.
The airplane contacted the ground on its landing gear, but then
bounced, and nosed over inverted when it re-contacted the ground.
The fuselage aft of the firewall sustained longitudinal crush
damage, and the vertical stabilizer and outboard leading edge of
the left wing sustained crush damage.
According to the FAA inspector, the spinner was crushed, but the
propeller and engine appeared completely undamaged. In addition,
the propeller did not exhibit any rotational scoring or scuffing.
The cap from the left fuel tank was found under the left wing, and
there was only a "light smell of automotive gasoline" at the site.
The pilot resided at 2FL0, and also had a hangar there. Friends of
the pilot transported the airplane to the pilot's hangar, where it
was secured, still in an inverted position.
2FL0 had a single turf runway that was 3,500 feet long and 75
feet wide. The runway orientation was noted as 3/21.
FAA records indicated that the pilot held a student pilot
certificate that was issued in November 2007. His most recent FAA
third-class medical certificate was issued in May 2004. The
airplane was first registered to the pilot in July 2008. It was
manufactured in 1941, and was equipped with a Continental A65
engine.
File Photo
The automated weather observation at an airport located 15 miles
south of the accident site, at about the time of the accident,
reported winds from 270 degrees at 9 knots, visibility 10 miles,
clear skies, temperature 32 degrees C, dew point 26 degrees C, and
an altimeter setting of 29.89 inches of mercury.