# Accident 20090309004039A: Mxrtec MX2, Dade City, FL, March 9, 2009 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 9, 2009, 12:19 local time - Place: Dade City, FL - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Maneuver - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 28.3225° N, 82.1383° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.3225&lon=-82.1383&mi=10 - Aircraft: N262MX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N262MX-2016-09-06) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: MXR Technologies MX2 (registry code 05619EF, https://openairdocs.org/model/mxr-technologies-mx2) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming AEIO-540 series (registry code 41568, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-aeio-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MXRTEC MX2 - Reported engine: LYC AEIO540* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,022 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA09LA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA188) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090309004039A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON MARCH 9, 2009 , AT 12:19 PM EDT, AND EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR BUILT, MXR TECHNOLOGIES MX2, N262MX, REGISTERED TO AEROBATIC ACTIVITY, INC., IMPACTED THE GROUND NEAR DADE CITY, FLORIDA WHILE PRACTICING AEROBATIC MANEUVERS. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED IN A POST-IMPACT FIRE AND THE COMMERCIAL RATED PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE ZEPHYRIHILLS AIRPORT, ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA ON MARCH 9, 2009 AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00 PM EDT. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. SEVERAL WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY OBSERVED THE MISHAP AIRCRAFT OPERATING AT A LOW ALTITUDE IN MANEUVERING FLIGHT, PERFORMING FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES. ONE GROUP OF THREE WITNESSES, LOCATED APPROXIMATELY ½ MILE FROM THE IMPACT POINT, STATED THAT THE PILOT “LOOKED LIKE HE WAS GOING UP AND THEN IT STALLED. HE NOSED DOWN AND SOUNDED LIKE THE MOTOR WAS WIDE OPEN WHEN IT STARTED BACK UP AGAIN. HE WAS FACING STRAIGHT DOWN WHEN IT FIRED BACK UP AND THEN HE STARTED TO PULL THE NOSE BACK UP. IT THEN CRASH LANDED INTO THE ORANGE GROVES.” THE GROUP OF THREE PROCEEDED TO THE CRASH SITE, AND ONE OF THE WITNESSES CONTACTED EMERGENCY 911 AT 12:19 PM EDT. WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON FIRE. ONE OF THE WITNESSES STATED THAT HE ATTEMPTED TO DRAG THE REAR OCCUPANT (PILOT) CLEAR OF THE FIRE, BUT HAD TO RETREAT WHEN THE FIRE FLARED UP SUDDENLY AND ENGULFED THE ENTIRE AIRCRAFT. ONE OF THE WITNESSES ON THE SCENE DRAGGED THE RUDDER AWAY FROM THE REST OF THE AIRCRAFT SO AS TO PRESERVE THE N-NUMBER. A SINGLE WITNESS LOCATED APPROXIMATE 1,500 FEET FROM THE IMPACT POINT STATED THAT SHE OBSERVED A GREEN AIRCRAFT AS IT PERFORMED A SERIES OF AEROBATIC MANEUVERS (“LOOP-DE-LOOPS”), WATCHING FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES. SHE STATED THAT HER ATTENTION WAS INITIALLY DRAWN TO IT BECAUSE OF THE VERY LOUD NOISE IT MADE AS IT FLEW CLOSE BY HER LOCATION, LOW TO THE GROUND. SHE STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT DID TWO LOOPS AND WHILE PULLING OUT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SECOND ONE, THE AIRCRAFT BECAME SUDDENLY VERY QUIET. SHE STATED THAT IT WENT INTO A “TAIL SPIN” AND WENT STRAIGHT DOWN. SHE STATED THAT SHE HEARD THE SOUND OF THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTING THE GROUND, AND THEN SHE SAW THE PLUME OF BLACK SMOKE RISE FROM THE ORANGE GROVE. WRECKAGE AND FIRE WAS CONFINED TO A SMALL AREA. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED UPRIGHT IN A PANCAKE FASHION WITH NO FORWARD MOMENTUM EVIDENT ON THE GROUND OR IN SURROUNDING VEGETATION. MOST NOTABLY, TWO OF THE THREE PROPELLER BLADES SHOWED NO SIGNS OF ROTATIONAL SHEAR OR DAMAGE, INDICATING THAT THE PROPELLER WAS STOPPED AT THE MOMENT OF IMPACT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ERA09LA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA188), Mar 9, 2009: MXR Technologies MX2 (N262MX), Dade City, FL, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: An in-flight loss of aircraft control for an undetermined reason. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.