Vermeys T-BIRD II N3KV

Summary

On 10 November 2001 at about 22:22 local time, a Vermeys T-BIRD II registered N3KV was involved in an accident near Sherburn, Minnesota, 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

10 November 2001 at 22:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Sherburn, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

43.6508, -94.7201

Aircraft

Vermeys T-BIRD II

Registration

N3KV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sherburn → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI02LA037

1 person died.

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The amateur-built experimental airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain during an uncontrolled descent. The pilot was fatally injured. The Sheriff's report stated, "It had started to fall from approximately 500 feet. I was advised that it appeared that the engine had stalled and that the aircraft began to spiral before hitting the ground. The first witness on the scene advised that the engine had been running when he arrived. The parachute on the aircraft had been deployed. It appeared that the aircraft had hit the ground nose first." A witness stated that he watched the airplane fly around for about a half hour. He said the airplane was climbing and descending like a crop duster. He said that he heard the engine shut down. He said that he saw the airplane almost stand there, hung for a second or two, and nosed down. The airplane corkscrewed to the left about three quarters of a turn. He said the airplane did not go directly down and did not glide out of the descent. When the airplane descended below a hill he heard two pops like a shotgun. The accident was reported to the local Automated Flight Service Station as an ultralight accident. Photographs of the accident site showed level terrain available for a forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.