2000 McCoy GENESIS N9931W

Summary

On 22 November 2000 at about 21:00 local time, a 2000 McCoy GENESIS registered N9931W was involved in an accident near Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 November 2000 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.5203, -105.1397

Aircraft

2000 McCoy GENESIS

Registration

N9931W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Collis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN01LA017

1 person died.

Failure of an airframe stringer due to improper construction by the builder/pilot which rendered the aircraft uncontrollable. A factor was failure by the builder pilot to follow procedures and secure the engine prior to deploying the aircraft recovery parachute.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While the pilot/builder was conducting the 28th test flight following construction of the homebuilt aircraft, witnesses observed the aircraft flying in a westerly direction about 1,500 feet above the surface. The witnesses said the wings appeared to fold up and the aircraft descended vertically and impacted the ground in a open field trailing a streamed parachute. Investigation revealed the aircraft had been equipped with an aircraft recovery parachute and it had been activated by the pilot/builder. During deployment, the parachute had gone through the propeller and sheared off all the propeller blades. It also revealed a structural failure in the airframe where the pilot had drilled multiple holes at the left horizontal stabilizer attach point. The failure allowed the horizontal and vertical stabilizer to be displaced over the top of the aircraft. The aircraft was of a pusher propeller design and research into the parachute system provided information that in pusher propeller aircraft installations, the engine must be secured prior to the deployment of the parachute to prevent the parachute from becoming entangled in the propeller. The parachute shroud lines and Kevlar retention strap were wrapped around the propeller shaft and hub preventing the parachute from opening.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.