Princeton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 17:43 EDT

On May 22, 2014, at 1743 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Quicksilver Sprint II amphibious airplane, N505CR, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain following a loss of control while on approach to Princeton Airport (39N), Princeton, New Jersey. The commercial pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed 39N, about 1730. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. In interviews with the Montgomery Township Police, the pilot stated he had flown the airplane together with the owner operator aboard earlier on the day on four separate trips and the pilot stated he "controlled" the airplane on three of those trips before he de-planed the owner/operator and departed on a solo flight. After the pilot completed one circuit in the traffic pattern he lost directional control on final approach. He "circled" the airplane and returned for another approach where he again lost control as the airplane "banked to the left" and he could not recover it before it descended to ground contact. The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA second class medical certificate was issued on July 31, 2013. On August 27, 2013, the pilot reported to the NTSB that he had accrued 1,626 total hours of flight experience as of that date. The pilot's total flight experience in the accident airplane make and model could not be immediately determined. According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured October 24, 2013, and the airplane had accrued 8.1 hours since that date. Operating limitations for the airplane published November 30, 2013 stipulated that the airplane "must be operated at least 40 hours" in its assigned geographic area, which was within a 25 nautical mile radius of Mountain Airpark (OGE5), Cleveland, Georgia. The limitations further stipulated that during the flight-testing phase, no person be carried in the airplane. Examination of the airplane by an FAA aviation safety inspector revealed control continuity from the flight controls to the flight control surfaces. The inspector further stated that proper and corresponding movement of the flight controls and flight control surfaces was confirmed. The pilot and owner/operator stated that when they flew the airplane together there were no deficiencies with the performance and handling of the airplane. The FAA inspector stated that his post-accident examination revealed no obvious mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Not Yet Reported