Starke County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Knox, Indiana 46534
Monday, July 29, 2013 14:46 CDT

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 29, at 1446 central daylight time (all times cdt), an amateur-built Campbell RV-6A, N914ES, was destroyed when it collided with terrain during a landing approach to runway 36 (4,401 feet by 75 feet, asphalt), at the Starke County Airport (OXI), Knox, Indiana. The private pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site and no flight plan had been filed. The personal flight originated from Richard Downing Airport (I40), Coshocton, Ohio at 1246. The intended destination was OXI. The airplane was in a group of four other airplanes that originally departed the Fredericksburg, Virginia, area. According to the pilots of the other airplanes in the group, the original intention was to land at OXI and stay overnight near Knox, Indiana, and then continue the trip the following day to the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Airventure fly-in. The pilots reported that the accident airplane was the fourth airplane in the group and three other airplanes had already landed at OXI. The three pilots that had already landed reported seeing the airplane fly over the airport on a left crosswind portion of the landing pattern. They reported that their attention was diverted and they did not watch the remainder of the landing approach. When the fifth airplane of the group landed the first three pilots to land then realized that the accident airplane had not landed. The pilot and passenger of the fifth airplane in the group commented that they saw the accident airplane enter the traffic pattern at OXI, and heard his radio transmissions on the common traffic advisory (CTAF) frequency. They commented that the transmission from the accident pilot seemed out of the ordinary and that he was fumbling for words. They said that this was not common for the accident pilot and that he was usually very precise in his radio transmissions. The pilot and passenger of the fifth airplane did not see the accident happen and only learned of it after they themselves had landed. Flight track data was downloaded from a handheld GPS recovered from the accident airplane. The track data for the day of the accident showed that the airplane departed from the Shannon Airport (KEZF), Fredericksburg, Virginia, at 0955, and traveled to I40. The airplane remained on the ground at I40 for about 20 minutes. The other pilots in the group reported that all five airplanes were fueled at I40, including the accident airplane. The data showed that the airplane then departed I40 at 1246 and continued to OXI. The data showed the airplane traveled in a westerly direction when it passed over the airport at about 1,300 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane then made a left turn to the south and began descending. When the airplane was about 0.36 nautical miles southwest of the approach end of runway 36, it began a descending left turn back toward the runway. The left turn continued until the end of the data. The last recorded position was 0.3 nautical miles and 193 degrees from the approach end of runway 36. The altitude recorded at the last data point was 806 feet msl. The last recorded GPS location coincided with the location where the wreckage was found. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane. He was issued a third-class airman medical certificate, with a restriction for corrective lenses, on November 21, 2012. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The accident airplane was an amateur-built RV-6A airplane that was constructed from a kit. It was a low-wing monoplane of predominately aluminum construction. It was a two-place, low wing, single engine airplane, with a tricycle landing gear configuration. The airplane was issued an FAA experimental airworthiness certificate on August 4, 1994. The airplane was powered by a 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320-E2G four-cylinder, reciprocating engine, serial number L-47414-27A. The engine was manufactured in July 1977. METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS Weather conditions recorded by the OXI Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), at 1455 were: wind from 30 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 4,100 feet above ground level (agl), broken clouds at 4,800 feet agl, temperature 22 degrees Celsius, dew point 13 degrees Celsius, and altimeter 30.14 inches of mercury. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane impacted a corn field about 0.30 nautical miles south-southwest of the approach end of runway 36 at OXI. The airplane was upright and was facing about 120 degrees. The path through the corn and the crushing of the forward fuselage and wing indicated that the airplane impacted the ground in a near wings level attitude with the nose pitched downward about 60 degrees. The forward fuselage was crushed rearward and upward, and the engine and firewall were partially separated from the remainder of the fuselage. The wing leading edges were crushed rearward and upward with flattening of the leading edge wings skins at an angle coinciding with an approximate 60 degree nose down attitude. The wings, aft fuselage, and tail surfaces remained attached to the fuselage. The aft fuselage and tail surfaces exhibited little damage. Examination of the airplane’s flight controls revealed elevator and rudder continuity from the cockpit controls to the respective control surfaces. Right aileron continuity was confirmed from the right control stick to the aileron. Left aileron control continuity was confirmed from the left control stick to the aileron. A broken rod end was found on the push rod that connected the right and left control sticks. The break in the rod end was consistent with damage incurred during the impact. The linkages from the flap torque tube to the flaps were found broken on both right and left flaps. The breaks were consistent with damage incurred during the impact. The airplane’s engine rotated freely by hand. Suction and compression were confirmed on all cylinders. Valve train continuity was confirmed and valve action was noted at the number two cylinder. The left magneto was broken loose from its mount. It was equipped with an impulse coupling, and produced spark on all four ignition leads when rotated by hand. The right magneto remained attached to the engine. The right magneto was not equipped with an impulse coupling. After removal from the engine, the magneto was rotated using an electric drill and spark was noted on all four ignition leads. The carburetor was fragmented and only the upper portion remained attached to the engine’s induction system.

Not Yet Reported