20150723018389A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Kinner SPORTSTER B. · Muncy Valley, PA · July 23, 2015

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal NTSB investigation search

Date: July 23, 2015 · 17:53 local
Place: Muncy Valley, PA
Airport: Merritt Field
Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N13776
Reported as: Kinner Sportster B.
Reported engine: KINNER B5 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 1
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot

N13776Registered now · Kinner SPORTSTER B.S/N 102 · Built 1934 Airframe modelKinner SPORTSTER B.Engine modelKinner B5 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

After maintenance on the carburetor for a fuel leak from a stuck float that had caused a power failure during an earlier attempted take off, the aircraft was ground run for an extended amount of time at full power with no operational issues noted. Several take off hops were also completed, with no issues noted. A full take off was then performed. About 150 feet in the air, the engine stopped. Aircraft was unable to return to the runway and landed in the grass off the side of the runway, which resulted in the left wing separated about half way, and the engine separated from the aircraft.

As the FAA filed it

AFTER MAINTENANCE ON THE CARBURETOR FOR A FUEL LEAK FROM A STUCK FLOAT THAT HAD CAUSED A POWER FAILURE DURING AN EARLIER ATTEMPTED TAKE OFF, THE AIRCRAFT WAS GROUND RUN FOR AN EXTENDED AMOUNT OF TIME AT FULL POWER WITH NO OPERATIONAL ISSUES NOTED. SEVERAL TAKE OFF HOPS WERE ALSO COMPLETED, WITH NO ISSUES NOTED. A FULL TAKE OFF WAS THEN PERFORMED. ABOUT 150 FEET IN THE AIR, THE ENGINE STOPPED. AIRCRAFT WAS UNABLE TO RETURN TO THE RUNWAY AND LANDED IN THE GRASS OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, WHICH RESULTED IN THE LEFT WING SEPARATED ABOUT HALF WAY, AND THE ENGINE SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT.