Chrapczynski M1 MIDGET MUSTANG N804DC

Summary

On 16 July 2007 at about 23:30 local time, a Chrapczynski M1 MIDGET MUSTANG registered N804DC was involved in an accident near Elyria, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 July 2007 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Elyria, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Lorain County Regional Airport (LPR)

Coordinates

41.3442, -82.1775

Aircraft

Chrapczynski M1 MIDGET MUSTANG

Registration

N804DC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elyria → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA217

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain proper glide speed during the forced landing after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush condition and a hard landing. A contributing factor was the loss of engine power after takeoff for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The experimental airplane was substantially damaged during a hard landing following a loss of engine power after takeoff on runway 25 (5,002 feet by 100 feet, dry asphalt). The accident occurred during the first flight of the amateur-built airplane. The pilot stated that he had conducted over 4 hours of ground and taxi testing prior to the first flight. He noted that immediately prior to the accident takeoff he conducted a "high speed taxi run" and observed no problems with the engine. The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll the airplane accelerated to approximately 75 mph and lifted off "normally". He stated: "Within seconds after liftoff, the engine began "sputtering and slowing down." The "sputtering increased in intensity" and the pilot "realized that flight could no longer be maintained." He elected to execute an emergency landing in the grass area adjacent to the runway. He extended his glide in order to insure clearance to people located on the parallel taxiway positioned to assist in the event of an emergency. As result of the extended glide, the airspeed decayed and the airplane was "practically on a stall." He noted that the landing gear collapsed due to the resulting "rough landing" and the airplane subsequently "skidded to a halt" in the grass area near midfield. No anomalies consistent with a significant loss of engine power were found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.