20020703019889A

(-23) An amateur-built Kitfox-outback departed a private airstrip near Edenton, NC under visual meteorological conditions (VFR) on a local flight on July 3, 2002 at approximately 1600 hours EDT. The two occupants on board the aircraft were the owner/pilot and his aircraft mechanic; witnesses reported the pilot and mechanic were working on the aircraft prior to departure. The aircraft departed the private grass strip and crashed into trees off the departure end of the runway. The aircraft was consumed by fire and the two occupants on board received fatal injuries. (.19) on July 3, 2002, about 1600 eastern daylight time, a thomas outback amateur built aircraft, N74PT, registered to and operated by a private individual, as a title 14 CFR part 91 personal flight, crashed shortly after takeoff from a private strip in Edenton, north carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The commercial-rated pilot and one passenger received fatal injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. According to the FAA inspector who responded to the scene of the accident, the aircraft h AD just taken off when it crashed into a wooded area adjoining the private landing strip, and that a postcrash fire had ensued. The inspector said that a witness told him that the pilot/owner and his aircraft mechanic had been working on the aircraft, and they removed the previous propeller and had installed another, and were embarking on a test flight when the accident occurred. The inspector further stated that the witness said he heard the sound of the aircraft's engine as the airplane was being operated, and that the engine sounded as if it was "missing or sputtering", and that it did not sound as it usually had prior to it being worked on.