20190519004869A

The boise FSDO received notification of an aircraft accident with post-crash fire 300 yards north of Sunrise Skypark Airport (ID40) near Melba, Idaho under unknown circumstances. The pilot was fatally wounded.

The aircraft was located on private property in an empty field. The on-scene investigation indicates that the aircraft had either just departed from runway 30 or was conducting a fly-by of runway 30 at ID40. The ground scaring at the scene shows the aircraft hitting the ground with the right wing tip first, followed by the propeller/spinner, sliding upright along the ground forward as it rotated clockwise, and coming to a stop facing approximately 180 degrees from the original flight path. The aircraft came to rest approximately 100 feet from initial ground impact. A post-crash fire substantially burned the aircraft?s cockpit and cabin. An FAA airworthiness inspector conducted a continuity control check on scene and found no obvious discrepancies in flight controls. However, the post-crash fire destroyed many control cables, bellcrank?s, and the single control yoke. The aircraft was missing one propeller blade at the scene. The FAA iic and assisting FAA inspectors searched the fields and private property around the aircraft, and searched the Sunrise Skypark Airport for the missing propeller blade. The propeller blade was not located. A determination could not be established at the accident site of when the blade departed the aircraft, in flight or because of impact with the ground.

An aircraft salvage company relocated the aircraft to the boise airport for an engine inspection. An air safety investigator from Continental motors group conducted the inspection and was witnessed by an FAA airworthiness inspector. The aircraft propeller was removed. The propeller hub showed thread damage at the missing blade location and one of the propeller locking lugs on the propeller hub was missing. The attachment point of the missing propeller locking lug showed signs of delamination and rust was present. The inspection determined the engine crankshaft and accessory gearbox had continuity and engine compression on all cylinders was satisfactory. The ignition system was tested and found satisfactory. The condition of the fuel system could not be determined due to damage.

Initial on-scene accident site interviews were conducted. Those interviews were residents of the Sunrise Skypark Airport and they did not visually witness the accident but had heard it while inside their homes. The commonality between the interviewee?s was that they heard an airplane make two passes and it was flying low and fast. They further reported that the pilot and aircraft involved in the accident had performed rolls and aerobatic maneuvers in the past.

As the investigation progressed, two eyewitnesses came forward in the days following the on-scene investigation. The first eyewitness reported hearing a very loud and low flying airplane. She went out to her back porch that faces highway 78 and saw the airplane flying low between her house and the highway. She said it was about as high as the top of the trees; it flew sideways and went down nose first. It was around 100 to 200 yards away from her residence.

The second eyewitness reported seeing the aircraft conducting a right aileron/barrel roll and land runway 30. Then he watched the aircraft depart runway 30 again and attempt another right aileron/barrel roll at the end of the runway. The witness said he watched the aircraft rotate through approximately 135 degrees when the roll rate ceased and then it nosed past the tree line at a 45 degree angle from vertical from his perspective. He heard the impact and the engine sounded to be at normal RPM. He then witnessed smoke coming up from behind the tree line.

On 8/26/19 recovered missing propeller blade. DC NTSB lab received blade on 9/3/19.