ANC05FA070

The commercial pilot and sole passenger were departing a private airpark on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross-country flight when the engine lost power. Witnesses and the passenger, a private pilot, said the airplane was between 300-500 feet above the ground at the time of the power loss, when the pilot made a steep, abrupt, 180 degree turn to return to the airport. The airplane immediately entered a stall/spin, and the pilot, who had prior aerobatic training, made a partial recovery, stopping the spin rotation, and returning the airplane to a nearly level attitude before impact. The airplane crashed in a marshy area, in a level attitude, with a high vertical velocity. The area north of the airpark was essentially flat, mostly unoccupied, with minimal obstructions. There were several areas suitable for a low altitude emergency landing ahead of, and in close proximity to, the accident airplane's original departure flight path. According to the passenger (the airplane's co-owner and pilot's wife), the airplane had a history of unexplained power losses on takeoff, and the pilot had successfully returned to the departure runway at various sites on at least two, possibly three, prior occasions. On one power loss at a different airport, the passenger was flying, and the accident pilot took the controls and made a steep turn back to the airport. Once on the ground, the engine appeared to run normally. The passenger indicated that on the accident flight, like previous flights, the loss of engine power was abrupt, "like pulling the engine to idle" but the engine did not stop completely. A review of the airplane's maintenance records disclosed that in response to the power losses, an engine magneto and a cylinder had been replaced/repaired, and the carburetor adjusted and flow tested. The airplane had accrued 2.3 hours since its last annual inspection. Postaccident inspection of the engine and related systems, including a flow test of the carburetor and complete disassembly of the engine, disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical problem.

History of flight

On April 30, 2005, about 1715 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped F-19 Taylorcraft, N3691T, sustained substantial damage following a loss of engine power and loss of control during the takeoff/initial climb from runway 36 at the Chena Marina Airpark, Fairbanks, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot was fatally injured, and the sole, pilot-rated passenger, received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross-country flight. The flight was operated by the pilot/airplane owner and his wife, who was the pilot-rated passenger. The intended destination was Bettles, Alaska, and a VFR flight plan was filed.

The NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) interviewed several witnesses at the accident site and via telephone. They all related essentially the same information. All the witnesses were either at the Chena Marina airstrip, or along the perimeter road system north of the airstrip. The witnesses stated the airplane made a normal takeoff run from runway 36, and had reached an altitude of approximately 300-500 feet above the ground, when the engine abruptly lost all power. The airplane made an almost immediate, steeply banked turn to the left, pitched nose down, and entered a left turn spin, of one to two turns duration. The spin stopped, and the witnesses described a partial recovery, with the airplane's nose attitude starting to return to level prior to impact. One of the witnesses, who was closest to the airplane when it lost power, stated that she was unsure if the engine actually stopped, as it sounded as if the engine had continued to run, or idle, at a very low power, and may have had a momentary burst of power prior to impact. The airplane crashed in a boggy area of low brush and small, under 20-foot high, trees. It came to rest upright, with the nose of the airplane in a pond, and the engine under water.

The airplane's co-owner/passenger was initially interviewed by the IIC via telephone while she was hospitalized, on May 9, and in person at the hospital, on May 17. The IIC also had additional telephone conversations with her after her discharge. She stated that she has a private pilot's license, and is qualified to operate the accident airplane. She indicated that on the day of the accident flight, she preflighted the airplane, and found no indications of any mechanical problems or fuel contamination. She said the airplane was last fueled on April 27, with 100 low lead fuel from a fuel vendor, Alaska Air Fuel, at the nearby Fairbanks International Airport. Shortly before the accident flight, she drained fuel samples from both wing auxiliary tanks' quick drain sumps and the main header tank. She recalled that the auxiliary tanks were full, and the main tank had 3/4 or more. Her husband was the pilot-in-command, and prior to takeoff, he performed a pretakeoff engine run-up and systems check with no apparent mechanical problems. He then back-taxied about 2/3 of the way toward the takeoff end of runway 36 (4,700 feet long), and began the takeoff roll. The takeoff and initial climb were normal, until they had passed the departure end of the runway, and were about 300-500 feet above the ground, when the engine suddenly lost power, as if the engine throttle had been abruptly pulled to the idle. She said her husband immediately made a hard, steep, left turn to the south, towards the departure end of 36, and as the airplane rolled into the turn, it entered an inadvertent stall, the nose pitched nearly straight down, and the airplane started a spin to the left. She was unsure how far the airplane rotated to the left, but stated that the rotation stopped, and a partial recovery to a nearly level attitude was accomplished prior to crashing into a swamp. She also said that the engine never completely quit running, and it may have regained some power just prior to impact.

The passenger stated that they had purchased the accident airplane in October, 2003, and that it had an infrequent yet recurring problem of power losses during takeoff/initial climb. She reported that it had occurred once while she was flying the airplane, on or about October 2, 2004, while taking off from Fairbanks International Airport, with her husband as a passenger. She said the loss of power scenario was almost exactly the same as the accident flight, and about 300 feet above the ground, the engine suddenly lost power, but never completely stopped. Her husband immediately took the flight controls, and made an abrupt, hard turn to return to the airport. He was able to make a successful landing on a taxiway without damaging the airplane. After landing, engine power returned, and the airplane was able to taxi under its own power to the ramp area, where it was run-up to full power, without any apparent mechanical problems. They left the airplane at the airport, and it was recovered later by her husband. The passenger stated that she was aware of possibly two other loss of engine power events that happened while her husband was flying the airplane. On those occasions, like the incident at Fairbanks International Airport, he was able to return and land at the departure airstrip.

Injuries to persons

The commercial pilot was fatally injured. His shoulder harness failed at the point where the single anchor, or tail strap, attached to the V-shaped shoulder restraint straps. The passenger received serious injuries, and was hospitalized for several weeks. Her shoulder restraint system did not fail. Additional information regarding the restraint systems for the pilot and passenger are contained in the Tests and Research portion of this report, and in the Public Docket for this report.

Personnel information

The pilot held commercial privileges for airplane, single engine land and instrument ratings, and private privileges for airplane, single-engine sea. According to his personal flight log, he had accumulated approximately 1068 flight hours at the time of the accident. He had logged approximately 36 hours in the accident airplane. His second class FAA medical was issued October 19, 2004, with the limitation that he must wear correctives lenses for distant vision.

The pilot was employed by Colorado State University as a biologist, and was working under contract to the United States Army at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. As part of his duties as a biologist, he was authorized to fly certain government-owned airplanes, and on March 24, 2005, had successfully completed a recurrent Pilot Evaluation/Qualification Check written and check flight in a Aviat Husky A-1, administered by a Department of the Interior (DOI) check pilot and FAA certificated flight instructor. As part of the flight check, according to the evaluation form and an interview with the check pilot/instructor, the accident pilot successfully performed stalls, and one low level simulated loss of engine power and forced landing approach to a meadow. The check pilot/instructor indicated that the accident pilot did not attempt to complete a 180-degree turn during the maneuver, and appropriately selected an emergency landing site ahead of the airplane.

On September 12, 2004, the pilot was awarded a certificate from the FAA for completing a safety seminar, "Practical Risk Management For Pilots" FAA-Wings-024. The pilot had also completed a flight course in an aerobatic airplane, titled: "Emergency Maneuvering-Modules 1, 2, 3" from CP Aviation, Santa Paula, California, on November 24, 2002. According to the CP web site, modules 1, 2, and 3, cover stall spin awareness, in-flight emergencies, and basic aerobatics, including unusual attitude recoveries.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a single-engine, 1977 model year Taylorcraft F19 tailwheel airplane, with two seats in a side-by-side configuration. It was equipped with a Continental O-200, 100 horsepower-rated engine. A