Monroe Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Summerfield, Florida 34491
Sunday, April 6, 2014 19:37 EDT

On April 6, 2014, about 1937 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built RV-7, N57DC, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Monroe Airpark (2FA2), Summerfield, Florida. The commercial pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Witnesses reported that the pilot had been assisting with the production of a film throughout the afternoon, and that the purpose of the accident flight was to take video footage from the air. After departing from the grass runway, the airplane entered a circular orbit to the left. The airplane had completed three circuits, when during the fourth, it entered a rapid descent as engine power increased. During the descent, the wings rolled nearly level before the airplane impacted the ground in a nose low, slight left bank attitude. The final two seconds of the flight were captured on video from the ground. Review of the video footage showed a final descent and impact that coincided with the descriptions provided by witnesses. The engine sound from the beginning of the video through impact was smooth and continuous. A video camera recovered from onboard the airplane was retained for further examination. The airplane came to rest upright about 10 feet beyond the initial impact point, and both main landing gear had collapsed. The fuselage displayed significant aft crush damage in the area of the firewall, instrument panel, and cockpit. Control continuity was traced from each flight control surface to the cockpit area. The trailing edge of the electrically-actuated elevator trim tab was deflected 1/2-inch downward from the trailing edge of the elevator and the electrically-driven flap actuator was extended 3 inches. Both fuel tanks were ruptured at the wing root and were found absent of fuel. Continuity of the engine's power- and valvetrain were confirmed through rotation of the propeller, and thumb compression was confirmed on all cylinders. Borescope examination of each cylinder showed no evidence of any abnormal wear or combustion deposits. Each spark plug electrode appeared gray in color and displayed normal wear. Rotation of each magnetos' input shaft produced spark at all terminal leads. All four fuel injector nozzles were absent of any obstructions. Disassembly of the fuel system components revealed the presence of fluid consistent in color and odor with 100LL aviation fuel in the fuel lines between the firewall, engine driven fuel pump, and fuel servo, as well as in the fuel distributor valve. Trace carbon deposits were found in the oil suction screen; however, both the suction screen and oil filter were absent of any metallic debris.

Not Yet Reported