20020509007819A

(.19) On may 9, 2002, at 0950 pacific daylight time, an amateur built experimental mueller skyraider 1, N571AM, collided with the ground under undetermined circumstances about 3 miles north of Elko, Nevada. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91 of the federal aviation regulations, and was destroyed in the accident sequence. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area personal flight that departed from the Elko airport at 0848, and no flight plan was filed. According to responding deputies from the Elko county sheriff's department and the deputy coroner assigned to the case, there were no eyewitnesses to the accident. The aircraft impacted nose first in largely level desert type terrain. The fabric covered metal tubular frame fuselage was crushed from the nose back to the cockpit. One propeller blade was undamaged and the second one was underneath the fuselage. The wings and all the empennage fixed and moveable control surfaces were attached. The center mounted control stick was buckled and bent back into the pilot's lap. Fuel was leaking from the fuel tanks. (-23) on may 9, 2002 at approximately 9:50 am, Mr. Arthur v. mueller was returning to Elko regional airport after flying a local flight in his amateur built experimental skyraider one aircraft N571AM. There were no eyewitnesses to the landing, but three persons saw the aircraft in flight and told Elko county sheriff's department that they saw the propeller stopped and no engine noise, and the aircraft was approximately 300 to 500 feet above the ground. On site investigation found the right fuel tank had approximately 40% fuel and the left had about 70% fuel. It could not be determined if the Rotax engine had seized. Mr. Mueller received fatal injuries and the aircraft was destroyed. The family refused to talk to the county sheriff's department.