Spruce Creek Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Daytona Beach, Florida 32124
Saturday, March 22, 2003 8:43 EST

The pilot stated that he did a thorough preflight, run up, the takeoff checklist and took off from runway 05 at Spruce Creek Airport. Approximately 300 to 400 feet off the end of the runway he said the engine started to surge, and after a few surges it ceased operating completely. The pilot said that in order to avoid houses and trees, he attempted a turn to runway 23. He said he performed pre-landing tasks, and during his attempt to land on runway 23, it became apparent that he was not going to make it, so he landed in the only available open area for runway 5, in a wings level attitude. The airplane flipped over on its back and stopped. The passenger stated that they were flying the airplane on a flight immediately preceding the accident flight, and when they first took off on that flight he knew something was wrong. He stated that he smelled "smoke from the engine, or some kind of burning smell", and that they then landed because something was wrong. He said the pilot then did nothing other than "reved the engine before taking off again." During the takeoff, the passenger said that they got to an altitude of about 100 feet over the treetops and the engine started to stop and start. He said they lost altitude slowly at first, and as the pilot tried to turn around and come back toward the runway, he only made it to a position perpendicular to the end of the runway, before they started loosing altitude drastically. He said they went down at an angle into the water ditch at the and of the runway. An FAA inspector who responded to the accident, conducted examinations of the airframe and engine. According to the inspector, no preaccident anomalies were evident, and cold compressions were low on cylinders, but consistent with those obtained from a Franklin engine. The inspector further stated that when the engine was first installed on the airframe, the accessories had been swapped from another engine on to the accident engine. The Bendix model PS-5C pressure carburetor was examined, under NTSB supervision, at an FAA certified repair facility. The manual mixture control had incurred damage, and dark deposits had been baked on to the throttle body, consistent with that of an engine having been operating very rich. A large amount of engine oil in the venturi area, and during teardown, an air passage on the air side of the outer valve was found to have oil present, consistent with there being anomalies internal to the engine.The filter was clean and residue/contamination was found under the screen.

The pilot's improper preflight planning/decision to perform a second flight with known deficiencies in equipment, and his failure to maintain airspeed above the airplane's stall speed while maneuvering to reverse direction to land, after the engine subsequently ceased to operate, which resulted in a stall/mush, an inflight lost of control, an uncontrolled descent, and an impact with a ditch.