Replogle LANCAIR 360 N164T

Summary

On 3 April 2011 at about 20:30 local time, a Replogle LANCAIR 360 registered N164T was involved in an accident near Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 April 2011 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesapeake, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Chesapeake Regional Airport (CPK)

Coordinates

36.6589, -76.3303

Aircraft

Replogle LANCAIR 360

Registration

N164T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chesapeake → Chesapeake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11FA222

2 people died.

The pilot did not maintain airspeed following a loss of engine power, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's selection of the wrong fuel tank at takeoff, which resulted in fuel starvation and the total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had earlier flown to the airport and was taking his sister on a short familiarization flight. Witnesses reported that, after takeoff, when the airplane was beyond the departure end of the runway and about 200 to 300 feet above the ground, the engine began sputtering and backfiring. The airplane then turned sharply to the right (back toward the runway), stalled, and spun. It began to recover, and, as it did, several witnesses heard a brief reestablishment of power before impact. An examination of the wreckage indicated that, at the time of impact, the airplane was in an approximate 20-degrees-nose-down left rotation. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the engine or the airplane. Both fuel tanks were found empty but compromised. Areas of browned vegetation at the crash site indicated that, although specific fuel amounts could not be determined, very little fuel had been in the left fuel tank and far more fuel had been in the right tank. Although the fuel selector was found in the right tank position, its position prior to the loss of engine power could not be determined. If the fuel selector had been selected to the right tank while the airplane was in its initial climb attitude, it is possible that there was an insufficient quantity of fuel in the tank to cover the port that supplied the engine and that, when the nose of the airplane subsequently fell during the stall, fuel moved forward to cover the port and resupply fuel to the engine, resulting in the restored power heard by witnesses. A more likely scenario is that the pilot took off with the fuel selected to the left tank, and, once the loss of engine power occurred, he selected the right tank, which resupplied fuel to the engine before impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.