# Accident 20010408014099A: West Middlesex, PA, April 8, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 8, 2001, 19:14 local time
- Place: West Middlesex, PA
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.1742° N, 80.4555° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of West Middlesex, PA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1742&lon=-80.4555&mi=10
- Aircraft: NONE (not matched to a registry record)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010408014099A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON APRIL 8, 2001, AT APPROXIMATELY 19:00 PM, MR. GARY A. FOBES, A NON-CERTIFICATED PILOT, WAS ACTING AS PILOT-IN-COMMAND AND SOLE OCCUPANT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT REGISTERED, AND IT DID NOT HAVE AN AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE. THE PILOT DID NOT HAVE A PILOT OR MEDICAL CERTIFICATE. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD TAKEN OFF SOUTH AND RAN THE ENGINE TO 6000 RPMS AT AN ALTITUDE OF 550'. HE TURNED DOWN WIND AND THEN ON TO BASE MAINTAINING AN ALTITUDE OF 500'. WHEN HE TURNED BASE, HE WENT DOWN TO AN ALTITUDE OF 400'. THE AIRCRAFT LOST POWER, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT MAINTAIN MORE THAN 3000 RPMS, AND A WIND GUST MADE THE AIRCRAFT DESCEND. THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED POWER LINES THAT RAN PARALLEL TO THE RUNWAY AT A HEIGHT OF 60'. THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED THROUGH THE POWER LINES AND IMPACTED A ROAD WHERE IT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT AND FIRE. THE PILOT REMOVED HIMSELF FROM THE AIRCRAFT. HE RECEIVED A MINOR BURN ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ENGINE, AIRCRAFT, AND PROPELLER WERE DESTROYED TO A POINT THAT A SAFE FOR FLIGHT DETERMINATION COULD NOT BE MADE. THE ENGINE'S FUEL SYSTEM AND ALL THE ACCESSORIES WERE DESTROYED IN THE FIRE. THE ENGINE DID ROTOTE. THE PROPELLER WAS DESTROYED ON IMPACT. THE AIRFRAME AND ALL THE CONTROLS WERE ALSO DESTROYED DURING THE POST IMPACT FIRE. THE CONTINUITY OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS WAS CONDUCTED, AND ALL CABLES AND PULLEYS GAVE THE OPINION THEY WERE OPERATING PROPERLY PRIOR TO THE IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REMOVED FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE AND PLACED IN A HANGAR AT THE AIRPORT. A FOLLOW-UP IN THE INVESTIGATION WAS TO BE COMPLETED AT A LATER DATE. A PHONE CALL WAS MADE TO THE AIRPORT OWNER, RICHARD DYDA, INDICATING THAT WE WANTED TO FURTHER INSPECT THE AIRCRAFT. WHEN INSPECTOR HENRY VEJLSTRUP AND MYSELF ARRIVED, MR. DYDA STATED TO US THAT THE OWNER HAD TAKEN THE AIRCRAFT TO HIS HOME. WE WENT TO MR. FOBES' HOME TO INSPECT THE AIRCRAFT ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT IT HAD BEEN CUT INTO PIECES. THE MAIN TUBE THAT HOLDS THE CONTROL STICK HAD BEEN CUT INTO PIECES. THE REAR SEAT PAN HAD BEEN REMOVED, AND THE ENGINE AND PROPELLER WERE NOT THERE. NO FURTHER INVESTIGATION WAS CONDUCTED. AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. FOBES WAS CONDUCTED CONCERNING THE ACCIDENT. DURING THE INTERVIEW, THE QUESTION OF THE AIRCRAFT NOT BEING REGISTERED, CERTIFICATED, AND HIM NOT HAVING A PILOT'S LICENSE WAS ADDRESSED. HIS STATEMENT WAS, "I DID NOT KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE REGULATIONS, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS AN ULTRALIGHT." AN INVESTIGATION OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE FARS WAS CONDUCTED. THE DATA ABOVE WAS COMPILED FROM THE PILTO AND WITNESS STATEMENTS, AND AN ON-SCENE INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED BY PERSONNEL FROM THE ALLEGHENY FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE, AEA-03. WEATHER: WEATHER AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WAS: SKY: SCATTERED 8000 AGL VISIBILITY: 10 MILES ALTIMETER: 29.87 HG.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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