Plane Went Down Near Milton, FL Fatally Injuring The Pilot

The NTSB has released its preliminary report from an accident which occurred November 24 involving a Bushby Mustang II experimental airplane. The pilot, who was an active duty flight officer in the United States Air Force, was fatally injured.

The accident occurred as the plane was taking off from Peter Prince Airport (2R4), in Milton, Florida. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot.

According to a witness, she and her husband were driving on airport property when she first saw the accident airplane turning left base to final for runway 36. The airplane landed and did a touch and go. The next thing she saw was the airplane descending straight down to the ground from a height of about 100 ft just past the north end of the runway. She yelled out to her husband and they immediately drove to where the airplane impacted the ground and called 911. She did not hear the airplane's engine prior to impact because the windows of the car were rolled up.

The witness's husband said he saw the airplane do a touch and go on runway 36 but turned away to focus on driving. The next thing he saw was the airplane descending straight down to the ground from a height of about 50 to 100 ft just north of the runway. He did not hear the engine because he was inside his car with the windows rolled up. The witness said he and his wife rushed to the airplane. When he arrived, he did not see any leaking fuel, but assisted first responders by turning the fuel selector from the "on" position to the "off" position because there was a strong odor of fuel.

A flight instructor was standing on the western edge of taxiway alpha when he first saw the accident airplane parked behind his student in the run-up area near the departure end of runway 36. He said the accident airplane stayed in the run-up area for quite a while. The instructor said his student had departed and he was very focused on watching him as he flew in the traffic pattern. The next time the instructor observed the accident airplane it was departing, but he was not sure if this was his initial takeoff or not. He said the airplane used almost the entire length of the runway. When it rotated, the airplane was "pitching up fairly aggressively" and he could see the entire top of the airplane. The instructor said the airplane stalled and entered a spin. The airplane spun to the left a quarter of a rotation "where the plane was completely vertical upon impact with the ground." The instructor said he did not recall anything about the sound of the airplane's engine because he was more focused on his student.

The airplane came to rest on its nose in the grassy area located off the departure end of runway 36 on a magnetic heading of about 133°. The tail section of the airplane was straight up in the air and there was no post-impact fire. All major flight controls were accounted for at the scene and the single flap was fully retracted.

About 6 ft forward of where the airplane came to rest was an approximate 3-foot-wide wide impact crater. Embedded inside the crater were pieces of engine cowling. Extending to the right of the crater was an approximate 12-foot-long ground scar. A section of the right-wing tip and green navigational lens were found at the outermost end of the scar. The canopy was found separated from the airframe and was resting to the left of the airplane. The forward section of the empennage was deformed, and the tail section was bent to the right. The leading edge of the right and left wings exhibited leading-edge impact damage. The tail section appeared undamaged.

Flight control continuity was established for the ailerons and rudder by movement of the flight controls. The elevator did not move when the flight controls were moved. Further examination revealed that that the elevator control tube was still attached to the flight controls but was fractured on the forward and aft end where it connected to a bell crank mid-cabin from impact.

The engine was pushed aft into the main fuel tank and instrument panel. The main fuel tank, the fuel lines from the fuel selector to the tank, and the firewall fuel strainer bowl were breached. Each auxiliary fuel tank (located in the wing root of each wing) appeared intact. No fuel was found in the right auxiliary tank and about a half-gallon of 100LL aviation gas was drained from the left auxiliary tank. The fuel was absent of debris and water.

The two-bladed propeller remained attached to the engine. One blade was bent aft at mid-span and exhibited leading edge polishing and chordwise scratching along the entire span of the blade. The other blade appeared undamaged. The propeller and crankshaft flange were removed to facilitate rotation of the engine, which was accomplished via the vacuum pump port. Compression and valve train continuity were established on all four cylinders. A lighted borescope was used to examine each cylinder and no anomalies were noted to the pistons and valves. The oil filler neck was found cracked but the dip stick remained in place inside the filler neck. The oil suction screen was removed and absent of debris.

The carburetor separated from the oil sump and only the carburetor mating flange remained attached to the sump. The carburetor was disassembled and about a tablespoon of clear and rust-colored fluid was observed in the bowl and the accelerator pump chamber. The fluid was tested for water using a water finding paste, and all tests were positive for water. A milky white fluid was found in the fuel inlet screen port and it also tested positive for water. The fuel inlet screen was removed from the carburetor and was absent of debris. The firewall fuel filter bowl was breached during impact, but its screen was in the wreckage. The screen was corroded with a white powdery residue.

The engine was equipped with dual electronic magnetos and eight automotive spark plugs. Both magnetos were secured to the engine with some minor impact damage. The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 top spark plugs exhibited some impact damage. All spark plugs were removed and appeared new with no damaged electrodes. The magnetos were retained for further examination.

According to an airframe and powerplant mechanic, the pilot had reported a larger than normal RPM drop on the left magneto during an engine run just days before the accident. The mechanic said he removed, cleaned and rotated all eight sparkplugs. The pilot re-tested the engine and a larger than normal RPM drop was observed on the right magneto. The mechanic said that he and the pilot agreed there was an issue with the spark plugs, so the pilot went to a local automotive shop and purchased a new set of automotive spark plugs. The mechanic installed the new plugs the day before the accident, and the pilot performed another test run of the engine. According to the mechanic, the pilot said both magnetos tested normally, and he planned to take the airplane up for a test flight but would perform a long test-run of the engine before he departed. The mechanic did not know if the pilot did an engine test run that day but knew that the pilot did not fly due to a low overcast.

The pilot, who was an active duty flight officer in the United States Air Force, held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single and multiengine land. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single- and multiengine, as well as instrument airplane. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical was issued on September 10, 2015. A review of his logbook revealed he had logged a total of 91.4 civilian hours; of which, 26.8 hours were in the accident airplane. Of these 26.8 total hours in the accident airplane, about 8.5 hours were as pilot-in-command.

(Source: NTSB)

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