Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Apache Junction, Arizona 85219
Tuesady, February 17, 2004 13:40 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was observed by three witnesses in a flat counterclockwise spin from about 2,000 feet as it descended to ground impact. No one observed the airplane prior to the spin. All of the witnesses, one of whom is a commercial pilot, heard the sound of the turbine engine running throughout the spin, which consisted of 3 or 4 complete rotations. The purpose of the flight was to meet the specifications as outlined in the Phase 1 flight testing portion of the experimental operating limitations, as issued by the FAA. This was the third recorded flight. Due to the post-impact fire, control continuity was not confirmed during the subsequent wreckage examination. No evidence of preexisting mechanical malfunctions was noted with either the engine or propeller assembly. The engine and propeller control linkages were in the normal operating range near flight idle. During engine disassembly and teardown, a composite material, similar to a heat shield material commonly used to insulate the composite cowling, was located in the compressor and burner sections of the engine. The engine is a reverse flow free power turbine, with the power turbine shaft connected to the propeller. The engine is mounted in the airframe with the compressor inlet at the rear of the engine compartment.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot/builder's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering that resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/17/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1340 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Apache Junction |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85219 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 332629N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1113305W |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1354 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 265 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KFFZ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1394 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 35 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 350 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.19 |
| 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) | 18495 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 17 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1430 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 27 2005 6:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-SDL-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N330KT |
| NTSB Number | LAX04LA125 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Knapple/Wray Lancair |
| Aircraft Model | IV-P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | LIV-215 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3550 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael Wray/George Knapple |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Chandler |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85224 |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | FFZ |
| Departure City | Falcon Field |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1315 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| 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 | Descent - uncontrolled |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 2 2005 5:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |