- Date
- October 12, 2003, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mooresville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N296VXMcCan Velox Revolution II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Charlotte FSDO-33
- FAA report
- 20031012025889A
- Case key
- 58145
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision to conduct an aerobatic maneuver at an altitude too low to initiate a recovery.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated he entered a flat spin at 4,000 feet in the vicinity of the airpark. He kept the airplane in the flat spin too long and realized that he had insufficient altitude to recover the airplane before it collided with the ground, and he was too low to bail out. He raised the nose to a vertical attitude and applied full power. The airplane collided with a hangar and a post-crash fire ensued. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed no apparent mechanical failures.
Factual narrative
On October 12, 2003, at 1730 eastern daylight time, a McCan Velox revolution II experimental airplane, N296VX, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 aerobatic flight, collided with a hangar while maneuvering in the vicinity of Lake Norman Airpark, Mooresville, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed and there was a post-crash fire. The airline transport rated pilot reported minor injuries. The flight originated from Lake Norman Airpark, Mooresville, North Carolina, on October 12, 2003, at 1645.
The pilot stated he entered a flat spin at 4,000 feet in the vicinity of the airpark. He kept the airplane in the flat spin too long and realized that he had insufficient altitude to recover the airplane before it collided with the ground, and he was too low to bail out. He raised the nose to a vertical attitude and applied full power. The airplane collided with a hangar and a post-crash fire ensued. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed no apparent mechanical failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N296VX
- Reported as
- McCan Velox Revolution II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- DHM003
- Airframe hours
- 57
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Daniel H. McCan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 18, 2002 · 57 hours before
- Departed
- 14A · Mooresville, NC
- Airport
- 14A · Lake Norman Airpark
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- March 10, 2003
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 17,435 total · 125 in this make and model · 9,900 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- SVH, 11 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.