Thornhill REPLICA TS-1 N4463

Summary

On 31 August 1985 at about 19:00 local time, a Thornhill REPLICA TS-1 registered N4463, operated by Gerald Thornhill, was involved in an accident near Marengo, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

31 August 1985 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Marengo, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

42.2391, -88.5993

Aircraft

Thornhill REPLICA TS-1

Registration

N4463

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gerald Thornhill

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marengo → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI85LA364

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THIS AIRCRAFT IS POWERED BY A ROTARY ENGINE. THRUST IS VARIED BY SHORTING OUT ONE MAGNETO AND VARYING THE FIRING ORDER OF THE CYLINDERS VIA AN ELECTRICAL CAM ARRANGEMENT. THE MIXTURE CONTROL IS LIMITED TO ONLY A FEW SETTINGS. ONE OF WHICH IS LEVEL FLIGHT. FOLLOWING A LOW PASS OVER THE RUNWAY AT A THRUST SETTING OF 1/2 POWER AND A MIXTURE SETTING FOR LEVEL FLIGHT, THE PILOT PULLED UP INTO A CLIMB. THE ENGINE THEN DIED AND THE PILOT LANDED STRAIGHT AHEAD IN A HAY FIELD. THE HAY CAUGHT ON HIS UNDERCARRIAGE AND THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED OVER ON ITS BACK. FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT THE PILOT STATED THAT HE SHOULD HAVE ENRICHED THE FUEL MIXTURE PRIOR TO ATTEMPTING THE CLIMB.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.