Rose PEREGRINE N13NG

Summary

On 12 September 2007 at about 00:40 local time, a Rose PEREGRINE registered N13NG was involved in an accident near Reno, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 September 2007 at 00:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Reno, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Stead Field (4SD)

Coordinates

39.6683, -119.8764

Aircraft

Rose PEREGRINE

Registration

N13NG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Air Race/Show

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07LA259

1 person died.

The overspeed of the modified racing engine during takeoff that created an oil mist on the exhaust and smoke, and the pilot's failure to maintain a speed above stall speed (Vs) during his attempted emergency landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's diverted attention due to the smoke and the reasonable belief that an in-flight engine compartment fire was occurring.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to witnesses, just after takeoff on Runway 08 as the airplane reached an altitude of about 80 feet above the runway, smoke started coming from the lower part of the engine cowling, and the airplane's propeller stopped turning. As the airplane started to descend, the pilot appeared to attempt to turn left in order to land on a crossing runway (Runway 32), but during the turn the airplane appeared to stall and descend into the terrain. The airplane was recovered, and the engine, which had been highly modified for racing, was torn down and inspected. No pre-impact anomalies or malfunctions were discovered during the teardown, except that the exhaust system heat wrap covering near the crankcase breather was covered by a film of oil residue. The conclusion of the owner was that the increase in power and the pitch of the newly installed propeller allowed the engine to overspeed, resulting in the pressurization of the crankcase, and the ejection of an oil mist onto the exhaust system heat wrap. The owner believes that this resulted in the creation of smoke that got into the cockpit, which likely lead the pilot to believe that he may have had an in-flight fire. The pilot, thinking he may have had an in-flight fire, shut the engine down, and attempted a landing on the crossing runway. This was the first flight of the airplane since the engine had been modified to produce more power, and since the airframe had been modified in an attempt to achieve a higher race airspeed. According to the owner, the engine was operating at a compression ratio of 13.5 to 1, and with the newly installed propeller, the engine had reached an on-ground static speed of 3,800 rpm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.