Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wichita Falls, Texas 76305
Thursday, May 24, 2001 19:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness observed the airplane in a "steep climb and high bank angle" when the engine lost power. The airplane spiraled down and impacted the ground "relatively flat". Examination of the airplane's fuel system by an FAA inspector revealed that the fuselage fuel tank was compromised, and the fuel lines to the wing fuel tanks were fractured. A law enforcement officer and emergency medical service personnel, who responded to the accident site, reported that there was an odor of fuel when they arrived on scene. Flight control continuity was established; however, the reason for the loss of engine power was not determined. According to the FAA inspector, the pilot had logged a total of 62 flight hours, of which 5 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. .

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control following a loss of engine power while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing factors to the accident were the loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of the accident airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/24/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1905
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Wichita Falls
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76305
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 335652N
Event Location Longitude 0983657W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1852 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 42
Weather Observation Facility ID SPS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1019
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 10000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11485
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 24 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2110
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2002 1:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Fort Worth, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N197DB
NTSB Number FTW01LA128
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Blucher
Aircraft Model KR-2S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 8688
Certified Max Gross Weight 1930
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Apr 10 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 15.8
Airframe Hours 131.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Kenneth R. James
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1317 Edgehill Trail
Aircraft Owner City Iowa Park
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76367
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code F14
Departure City WICHITA FALLS
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 28 2002 5:48PM
User who most recently changed record MORJU
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --