University-Oxford Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oxford, Mississippi 38655
Sunday, March 6, 1994 15:08 CST

THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED DURING THE FIRST FLIGHT AFTER REASSEMBLY FOLLOWING REPAIRS AND MODIFICATIONS. AFTER TAKEOFF WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS 15-20 FEET OVER THE RUNWAY WITH RUNWAY REMAINING, WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING THE AIRPLANE OSCILLATE AROUND THE LATERAL AXIS. THE PILOT CONTINUED THE TAKEOFF AND BANKED LEFT DURING WHICH THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN TO PITCH NOSE UP AND DOWN WHICH COINCIDED RESPECTIVELY WITH ADDING AND REDUCING POWER. THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED TO ABOUT 120-150 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AND WAS SEEN TO BANK TO THE LEFT ABOUT 90 DEGREES AFTER WHICH THE AIRPLANE PITCHED NOSE DOWN AND IMPACTED THE GROUND ABOUT 45 DEGREES NOSE LOW. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY POST CRASH FIRE. FLIGHT CONTROL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF INTERNAL MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. THE CARBURETOR AND MAGNETOS WERE DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. THE PILOT'S FLIGHT TIME WAS NOT ACCURATELY DETERMINED. THE PILOT DID NOT PERFORM LOW OR HIGH SPEED TAXI TESTS BEFORE THE FIRST FLIGHT.

POOR PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM HIGH AND LOW SPEED TAXI TESTS BEFORE THE FLIGHT AFTER REPAIRS AND MODIFICATION OF THE AIRPLANE. ADDITIONALLY, FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS, AND FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB OVER THE RUNWAY DUE TO PITCH OSCILLATIONS OBSERVED BY WITNESSES. ALSO, FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED, INADVERTENT STALL/MUSH, AND ALTITUDE INADEQUATE FOR RECOVERY FROM THE INADVERTENT STALL/MUSH.