19991016030719A

(.19) On October 16, 1999, about 1232 central daylight time, a homebuilt KR-2, N85ES, registered to a private individual, experienced an in-flight loss of control and uncontrolled collision with terrain near bell buckle, Tennessee. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed and the commercial-rated pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The flight originated about 5 minutes earlier from the Bomar field-Shelbyville municipal airport, Shelbyville, Tennessee. A witness located outside about 200 yards from where the airplane crashed reported to an FAA inspector that he is accustomed to airplanes flying but the accident airplane seemed to be lower than usual. He reported that the engine was spittering and sputtering; and the engine then quit. He then observed the airplane in a spin and lost sight due to obstructions. Preliminary examination of the airplane by an FAA airworthiness inspector revealed that the airplane descended nearly vertical, and only a faint odor of fuel was noted at the accident site. The aluminum fuel tank was noted to be compromised but there was no evidence of bulging of the fuel tank walls. (-23) N85ES, piloted byprivacy data omittedwith one passenger, departed the murfreesboro, TN municipal airport (mbt) at approx. 1200 hours on October 16, 1999, after producing 5 gallons of avgas. The a/c proceeded to the Shelbyville, TN municipal airport (syi) approx. 21 miles to the south. The a/c made a touch and go landing on runway 18 and while in the east traffic (left) pattern heading north, to either do another landing on runway 18, or return to mbt the a/c experienced an engine failure at approx. 1230 hours due to fuel depletion. After attempting a left turn to the west to either return to syi or an open field, the a/c entered a flat uncontrollable spin that resulted in the a/c impacting the ground striking a tree before impact. The a/c impacted vertically, with a slight right wing down and nose low attitude. Both occupants were killed on impact and the a/c was destroyed. Investigaion revealed that the a/c had depleted its fuel supply, and was operating 2" aft of its maximum aft center of gravity. (.4)five gallons of fuel were added before the flight departed; after departure the flight proceeded to an airport located approximately 19 nautical miles away where a touch-and-go landing was observed. While flying northbound, northeast of the airport, witnesses heard the engine 'spittering and sputtering.' The airplane was then observed to turn to the left, followed by hearing the engine quit. They then observed the airplane in a nose low attitude, spinning and lost sight due to obstructions. Examination of the accident site by FAA inspectors revealed that the airplane descended vertical with little forward movement. A slight odor of fuel was noted in the damaged fuel tank, but no fuel was found; and no evidence of hydraulic action of the fuel tank was noted. No evidence of flight control preimpact failure or malfunction was noted. A seatbelt was not available for the right seat occupant, and replacement of the retractable main landing gear with a fixed type gear was performed but new weight and balance sheet was not located and the work performed was not documented in the aircraft maintenance records. Weight calculations performed indicate that the airplane was approxima (.4) cont'c approximately 3 pounds over maximum design gross weight at the time of the accident.