20160110000519A

On Sunday, jan 10, 2016, at 11:24 am, airport security camera footage showed amatuer built experimental aircraft N1950J taxi to the runup area to prepare for its initial phase 1 flight test. At 11:34 am, security camera footage shows N1950J departing fch runway 30, climbing normally through approximately 250 ft AGL, then rapidly decending in a left turn. A witness? Video also shows the moment of engine failure, with audio of a smooth and complete engine seisure in 1.5 seconds, folowed by loss of airspeed, pitch down and a rapid, controlled decent.

The commercial pilot received major injuries, including his back broken in 2 places, broken ribs and facial lacerations. The pilot was admitted for back surgery the day of the accident. 12 days after the accident, the pilot was admitted for brain surgery. The pilot died 3 days after surgery.

According to witnesses, and the pilot, the aircraft was pitched down, decended and was banked steeply left to avoid collision with the airport fence. The aircraft impacted the ground in an approximately 20 degree nose down attitude, left wing low.

Initial investigation on the scene revealed the initial impact ground scars were on a heading of 200 degrees, with indications that the aircraft bounced approximately 35 feet, coming to rest on a heading of 150 degrees. The wreckage rested 15 degrees nose down, with the prop hub touching the ground, the lower prop blade missing, one undamaged wooden blade frozen upwards at a 45 degree angle, and the flat spring main gear spread wide, wheels touching the bottom of the wings. The left wing was buckled and bent upwards at an approximately 30 degree angle. The fuselage was buckled on the left side of the cockpit and aft. The nose gear strut was smashed up into the magneto housing on the rear of the engine, and the engine mount was broken in its lower members. The oil cooler, mounted low in the front of the engine, was partly crushed, although only a few tablespoons of oil had leaked into the soil. The seat structures showed broken wood and torn metal. Pieces of the acrylic canopy were scattered along the wreckage trail and about the scene. The remains of a wooden prop blade and a led landing light were found at the initial engine impact site.

The flaps were in the up position. The fuel valve was found in the nearly off position, the magneto and secondary ignition in the off positions. The remainder of switches were found in the off positions. All engine controls in the cocpit were found connected to the respective engine components. Elevator and rudder controls were connected. The right aileron remained connected to the control stick pushrods. The left aileron was no longer connected to the control stick pushrods due to left wing damage. There was no fuel smell at the scene, nor signs of leakage in the soil or green grass. The fuel tank contained approximately ½ cup of blue 100LL fuel in the sump box. The transparent inline fuel filter showed full of blue 100LL fuel. The oil dipstick, located on the left front of the engine indicated no oil when the aircraft was leveled. There were only trace indications of oil leakage from the engine, in the cowling or on the belly. There were no signs of heat distress on the cylinders. There were no signs of engine case breakage. Inspection inside the rocker covers revealed a trace ammount of oil, whitish ?lubriplate? Assembly lube residue and all valves and valve train components intact and free. The garmin GPS 296 revealed the track ending with a turn to the left off the runway, ending at the accident site. A review of the aircraft records revealed that this aircraft qualified as a light sport aircraft.