Lorain County Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Elyria, Ohio 44035
Monday, July 16, 2007 19:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The experimental airplane was substantially damaged during a hard landing following a loss of engine power after takeoff on runway 25 (5,002 feet by 100 feet, dry asphalt). The accident occurred during the first flight of the amateur-built airplane. The pilot stated that he had conducted over 4 hours of ground and taxi testing prior to the first flight. He noted that immediately prior to the accident takeoff he conducted a "high speed taxi run" and observed no problems with the engine. The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll the airplane accelerated to approximately 75 mph and lifted off "normally". He stated: "Within seconds after liftoff, the engine began "sputtering and slowing down." The "sputtering increased in intensity" and the pilot "realized that flight could no longer be maintained." He elected to execute an emergency landing in the grass area adjacent to the runway. He extended his glide in order to insure clearance to people located on the parallel taxiway positioned to assist in the event of an emergency. As result of the extended glide, the airspeed decayed and the airplane was "practically on a stall." He noted that the landing gear collapsed due to the resulting "rough landing" and the airplane subsequently "skidded to a halt" in the grass area near midfield. No anomalies consistent with a significant loss of engine power were found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain proper glide speed during the forced landing after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush condition and a hard landing. A contributing factor was the loss of engine power after takeoff for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/16/2007
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1930
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Elyria
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44035
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 412039N
Event Location Longitude 0821039W
Event Location Airport Lorain County Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LPR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 793
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LPR
Elevation of weather observation facility 793
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
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) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22214
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 17 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 31 2007 7:09AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-CLE FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N804DC
NTSB Number CHI07CA217
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Chrapczynski
Aircraft Model M1 Midget Mustang
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1054
Certified Max Gross Weight 1092
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 0
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel T Chrapczynski
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Sheffield Village
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44054
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code LPR
Departure City Elyria
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1915
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 13 2007 11:23AM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --