# NTSB ANC07LA027: Carris Avid Aircraft, N9174D, Delray, FL, April 1, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 1, 2007, 14:54 local (18:54 UTC) - Place: Delray, FL - Coordinates: 26.45, -80.133331 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.4500&lon=-80.1333&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 2 serious - Status: Completed, report July 25, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 65541 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC07LA027 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/65541/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC07LA027 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power during cruise flight for an undetermined reason, and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an emergency descent, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and in-flight collision with terrain. A factor associated with the accident was the inadvertent stall. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - Loss of control - in flight, descent - emergency - airspeed(vs) - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command (contributing factor) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - open field ## Analysis The private pilot, with one passenger, was conducing a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight in an experimental, homebuilt airplane. As a result of the accident, the pilot sustained serious injuries, and was unable to recall any details about the accident. According to rescue personnel that responded to the accident site, the pilot reported a loss of engine power during cruise flight, and the accident happened as he was attempting a forced landing in an open field. Witnesses reported seeing the accident airplane fly over the open field, followed by a series of descending, spiral turns over the intended landing site. As the airplane continued the series of turns, it abruptly nosed down, and struck the ground nose first. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. An FAA airworthiness inspector inspected the airplane wreckage after its recovery. The inspector said that the right fuel tank contained about 4 gallons of fuel, and the left fuel tank was empty. He also reported that he did not discover any preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane or the engine. ## Factual narrative On April 1, 2007, about 1454 Eastern daylight time, an experimental Carris Avid Flyer, N9174D, sustained substantial damage following a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing near Delray Beach, Florida. The private pilot/owner and the one passenger both sustained serious injuries. The local 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight originated at the Antiquers Aerodrome, a private fly in community, located in Delray Beach, about 1430. According to rescue personnel that responded to the accident site, the pilot reported a loss of engine power during cruise flight, and the accident happened as he was attempting a forced landing in an open field. Witnesses reported seeing the accident airplane fly over the open field, followed by a series of descending, spiral turns over the intended landing site. The witnesses said that as the airplane continued the series of turns, it abruptly nosed down, and struck the ground nose first. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The accident airplane was equipped with a Rotax engine, model 582UL. According to the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the pilot, he has no memory of the accident due to retrograde amnesia. He said that his passenger, who remained conscious following the accident, reported that the engine quit running, and the accident happened while he was attempting a forced landing in an open field. An FAA airworthiness inspector from the Fort Lauderdale Flight Standards District Office inspected the airplane wreckage after it was recovered from the accident site. The inspector reported that the right fuel tank contained about 4 gallons of fuel, and the left fuel tank was empty. He also reported that he did not discover any preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9174D](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9174D-2013-05-08), registration cancelled 2013-05-08, S/N 946, built 2001 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Carris Avid Aircraft - Registry model: [Carris Edgar C C AVID FLYER](https://openairdocs.org/model/carris-edgar-c-c-avid-flyer) (registry code 05611NF) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Bombardier ROTAX (ALL)](https://openairdocs.org/engine/bombardier-rotax-all) (registry code 09050, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 946 - Airframe hours: 101.8 - Engines: Rotax 582 UL 64 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Charles K. Scherer - Registered owner: Charles & Susan Scherer - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 1, 2007, 1 hours before - Departed: 3X1, DELRAY BEACH, FL - Destination: 3X1, DELRAY BEACH, FL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 61; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2006; seat: left; flight hours: 1,750 total, 50 in this make and model, 1,700 as pilot in command, 15 in the last 90 days, 8 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 13 knots - Visibility: 8 statute miles - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 59 °F - Observed at: FD08 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20070401013059A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070401013059A), Apr 1, 2007: Amtr AVIDFLYER, Delray Beach, FL, Destroyed. (-23) On April 1, 2007 the pilot [privacy data omitted] departed a grass strip with a passenger. Their intention was to fly to the coast and look at sharks.… 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. --- 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.