Lake Norman Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mooresville, North Carolina 28117
Sunday, October 12, 2003 17:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated he entered a flat spin at 4,000 feet in the vicinity of the airpark. He kept the airplane in the flat spin too long and realized that he had insufficient altitude to recover the airplane before it collided with the ground, and he was too low to bail out. He raised the nose to a vertical attitude and applied full power. The airplane collided with a hangar and a post-crash fire ensued. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed no apparent mechanical failures.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision to conduct an aerobatic maneuver at an altitude too low to initiate a recovery.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/12/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Mooresville
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28117
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 353650N
Event Location Longitude 0805401W
Event Location Airport Lake Norman Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 14A
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 838
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1740 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 343
Weather Observation Facility ID SVH
Elevation of weather observation facility 965
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 7000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) 2233
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17092
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communication Center
NTSB Notification Date Oct 12 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Charlotte FSDO-33

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N296VX
NTSB Number ATL04LA014
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McCan
Aircraft Model Velox Revolution II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number DHM003
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 18 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 57
Airframe Hours 57
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel H. McCan
Aircraft Owner Street Address 120 Doolittle Lane
Aircraft Owner City Mooresville
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28117
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 14A
Departure City Mooresville
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1645
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jan 12 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record POWP
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 --