Rice KR-2 N44729

Summary

On 23 June 2010 at about 16:06 local time, a Rice KR-2 registered N44729 was involved in an accident near Richfield, Utah, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 June 2010 at 16:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Richfield, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Richfield Municipal Arpt (RIF)

Coordinates

38.7344, -112.0981

Aircraft

Rice KR-2

Registration

N44729

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Richfield → Richfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA310

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power during initial climb due to a carburetor malfunction.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had recently purchased the airplane and, before flying it, he had a resident mechanic perform a condition inspection on the airplane, which was signed off on the day of the accident. The pilot stated that he did several long static engine runs on the ground and then planned to perform several high-speed taxi runs. During the second high-speed taxi, with a tailwind, the airplane became airborne. This was the first time the pilot had flown the airplane and he decided to continue the takeoff to stay in the traffic pattern and return for landing. The pilot reported that when he had climbed to about 250 feet, the engine began to lose power and the airplane began to descend. He turned back towards the runway's midpoint to land and the right wing suddenly dropped and impacted the airport's perimeter fence. The airplane came to rest inverted with its engine broken off and under the fuselage. The left wing was broken at the wing root, but not separated from the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector and the resident mechanic found that the slide-type carburetor contained a gummy residue and did not operate freely. Additionally, the spark plugs appeared to have excessive carbon buildup. During the examination of the airplane, other than the condition of the carburetor and spark plugs, no preimpact mechanical anomalies were found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.