20011021028859A

(-23) Aircraft impacted ground approximately 2 miles east of dillingham airfield, mokuleia, HI. One person on board sustained fatal injuries. (.19) on October 21, 2001, at 1257 hours hawaiian standard time, an experimental jodel D-9, N43RR, experienced a loss of engine power and crashed into a taro patch near Waialua, Hawaii, approximately 2 miles east of the dillingham airfield airport, mokulei, Hawaii. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91, sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight to the honolulu international airport, honolulu, Hawaii, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The flight had departed the dillingham airfield airport about 1246. The safety board investigator interviewed a witness who was trailing the accident airplane and acting as an escort. He was about 1/2 mile behind the airplane, and then lost sight of it. He initiated a turn in the opposite direction to look for the accident airplane. He saw the airplane headed back towards dillingham, at a low altitude, appa rently looking for a place to land. The witness stated that he saw the left wing drop, and then the airplane descended to impact the ground. A ground witness stated that earlier in the day the airplane had taxied past him on the taxiway three times. The first two times the engine stopped and then started again. The witness reported that it sounded like the pilot "played with the throttle" to get the airplane started again. On the third taxi the witness stated that the engine stopped; the pilot restarted the engine and taxied back to his hangar. According to a federal aviation administration inspector who conducted the on-scene investigation, the airplane has a wooden propeller. One of the blades broke at the hub, and was not splintered or fractured. He indicated that he did not see the other propeller blade, but believed that it was underneath the engine. He further stated that the engine was buried in soft dirt about 3 feet, and he did not see or smell evidence of fuel on the ground or around the airplane. (.4) history of flight: on October 21, 2001, at 1257 hawaiian standard time, an experimental rhoades jodel D-9, N43RR, experienced a loss of engine power and crashed into a taro field near Waialua, Hawaii, approximately 2 miles east of the dillingham airfield airport, mokuleia, Hawaii. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91, sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight to the honolulu international airport, honolulu, Hawaii, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The flight had departed the dillingham airfield airport at 1246. The wreckage was examined at the accident site. One wooden propeller blade was fractured near the hub. The blade did not exhibit any tip damage. There was no evidence of fuel on the ground or around the airplane.