Morrison E-RACER N345JM

Summary

On 31 July 2011 at about 12:48 local time, a Morrison E-RACER registered N345JM was involved in an accident near Big Rock, Illinois, 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

31 July 2011 at 12:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Rock, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR)

Coordinates

41.7592, -88.5144

Aircraft

Morrison E-RACER

Registration

N345JM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sugar Grove → Sugar Grove

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11FA537

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after experiencing excessive engine cylinder head temperatures during the initial flight test of the experimental amateur-built airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident occurred during the first flight test of the recently completed experimental amateur-built airplane. The tower controller cleared the flight to orbit the airport at 2,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and to make left turns. As the airplane was completing its first orbit of the airport, the pilot told the tower controller that the airplane was experiencing excessive engine cylinder head temperatures and that he would like to land. According to radar track data, the airplane was at 2,700 feet msl and had a ground speed of about 145 knots at that time. The tower controller replied that the wind was calm and that the flight was cleared to land. The pilot acknowledged the landing clearance, and no additional communications were received from the pilot. Radar track data indicated that the airplane began a left descending turn as its ground speed decreased from about 170 to 105 knots, and its descent rate increased from 650 to 2,400 feet per minute. The last radar return was about 2 miles west-southwest of the airport about 400 feet above the ground. A witness observed the accident airplane traveling about 125 feet above the ground at a high speed while in a slight left turn with its landing gear retracted. The airplane leveled its wings momentarily before it entered a left-wing-low, wings-near-vertical descent and then collided with power lines and a cornfield. The postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. No evidence of an in-flight fire was found. The extent of damage to the engine compartment and associated baffling precluded a determination of why the engine developed excessive cylinder head temperatures during the accident flight. However, excessive engine cylinder head temperatures would not have resulted in a flight controllability issue and, therefore, the pilot should have been able to maintain control of the airplane throughout the flight. The pilot had accumulated about 365 hours of flight experience in a comparable airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.