Pilot Debrief

WAYLAND JOHN H AVID MARK IV near Minneola, FL — 2016-01-09

Final reportERA16LA086
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Date
2016-01-09
Location
Minneola, FL, USA
Airport
3FD4
Aircraft
WAYLAND JOHN H AVID MARK IV
Registration
N72MT
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the crosswind turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin.

NTSB narrative

The sport pilot of the experimental, amateur-built, light sport airplane performed a takeoff and initiated a steep, left, crosswind turn to avoid horses off the end of the runway. About 300 ft above the ground, he smelled "burning wires" and thought he saw a "wisp of smoke." The engine "sputtered then died." The left wing stalled, the airplane rolled inverted, and entered a downward spiral. The airplane collided with trees and terrain before coming to rest, inverted, in a grassy field. Examination of the airframe and engine found no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot received his sport pilot certificate about 4 months before the accident and had accumulated about 120 hours of total flight time at the time of the accident. It is likely that, following the total loss of engine power, the pilot failed to reduce the airplane's angle of attack either sufficiently or quickly enough to prevent an aerodynamic stall/spin.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided steep turn after takeoff to prevent engine issues.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents5

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