Watson Michael A VELOCITY ELITE RG N78BM

Summary

On 6 October 2020 at about 19:30 local time, a Watson Michael A VELOCITY ELITE RG registered N78BM was involved in an accident near Lady Lake, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 October 2020 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lady Lake, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.9292, -81.9308

Aircraft

Watson Michael A VELOCITY ELITE RG

Registration

N78BM

Category

Airplane

Year built

1997

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gainesville → Orlando

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA009

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The experimental, amateur-built airplane was fueled prior to the cross-country flight. About 20 minutes into the flight, shortly after the airplane descended from 7,000 ft mean sea level (msl) to 3,000 ft msl, the engine lost all power. The pilot verified adequate fuel and that the mixture and throttle controls were in the correct positions; however, he was unable to restart the engine and performed a forced landing into a field. The airplane was substantially damaged when it struck a fence during the landing. Subsequent examination of the engine, fuel system, and ignition system did not reveal any preimpact anomalies. The onboard engine monitor only stored data regarding the duration of and total engine time at the end of the previous flight. Given the available information, the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.