Pilot Debrief

Issitt Greg Sonex near Malone, FL — 2021-11-08

Final reportERA22FA051
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Date
2021-11-08
Location
Malone, FL, USA
Aircraft
Issitt Greg Sonex
Registration
N432SX
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

An in-flight collision with a tree for reasons that could not be determined.

NTSB narrative

On the day of the accident, the pilot reported to a friend that the engine had lost power twice during a previous flight that day, but he informed another individual before departing on the accident flight that he had discovered what the problem was and would remain in the airport traffic pattern during the next flight. The pilot departed and proceeded north of the airport, where a witness near the accident site noted that the airplane flying in a westerly direction at high speed toward the ground. About 1 to 2 seconds after the airplane disappeared from his view, he saw black smoke. The airplane had impacted a tree adjacent to an abandoned runway while flying in a westerly direction, then impacted the ground and came to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the flight controls. Examination of the power train of the engine revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Although several of the spark plug gap measurements did not meet specification, these conditions likely existed when the flight departed and likely would not have resulted in a total loss of engine power. Extensive thermal damage to the engine precluded examination of the ignition and fuel metering system components. Therefore, it could not be determined whether there was a loss of engine power during the accident flight, or if the pilot was attempting to perform forced landing to the abandoned runway when the collision with the tree occurred.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted takeoff after previous engine power losses.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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