Meyers MIDGET 0100 N881MM

Summary

On 24 August 2019 at about 01:15 local time, a Meyers MIDGET 0100 registered N881MM, operated by Montrex Racing Inc, was involved in an accident near Big Spring, Texas, 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

24 August 2019 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Spring, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.1431, -101.5869

Aircraft

Meyers MIDGET 0100

Registration

N881MM

Category

Airplane

Year built

2002

Engines

1

Operator

Montrex Racing Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Big Spring → Big Spring

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19FA235

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain situational awareness while conducting a roll, which resulted in his inability to recover from the maneuver before the airplane impacted the ground. Contributing to the accident was his inexperience in both aerobatic maneuvers and the accident airplane.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot purchased the accident airplane, which was his first race airplane, about 8 months before the accident flight and had flown the airplane for an estimated total of 10 hours. Since purchasing the airplane, he had aerobatic training and tailwheel training. A witness, a friend of the pilot who was flying an airplane alongside the accident airplane for the accident flight, stated that sometime before the flight, the pilot mentioned that he had recently rolled the airplane but that it didn’t “go particularly well.” They discussed the maneuver and how to enter and recover from it; the accident flight was the first flight after that discussion. The two airplanes departed and conducted several oval maneuvers above the airport. The witness reported that the pilot wanted to practice a roll, so the two airplanes climbed to about 4,000 ft above ground level. The witness stated that the accident pilot started a “pretty steep” dive; the witness had to maneuver to get the airplane back in sight. When it came into view, the airplane was inverted and slightly nose down. The airplane then entered a steep, tight spiral. The witness dove his airplane and yelled directions over the radio, but the pilot did not respond, and the airplane did not change. It continued to descend for about four or five more spirals when the airplane uprighted. The witness continued to dive his airplane and yell directions over the radio. The witness stated that the airplane appeared to level about 500 ft above the ground and entered a slight about 180° right turn. It appeared to be flying slower than before, but there were no visual indications of anomalies with the airplane. The witness continued to maneuver his airplane to keep the accident airplane in sight and then saw a cloud of dust; the airplane had impacted the ground. GPS data indicated that just before the airplane’s abrupt descent, the ground speed increased from about 115 knots at 6,700 ft GPS altitude to about 160 knots at 6,200 ft GPS altitude. As the data began to show a steep descent trend, the ground speed reached 169 knots; the descent lasted about 14 seconds. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. Given the pilot’s overall inexperience both in the accident airplane and with the roll maneuver, along with a change in the spiral dive at about 500 ft, it is likely the pilot lost situational awareness and was unable to recover from the maneuver before the airplane impacted the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.