- Date
- February 26, 2005, 15:40 local (20:40 UTC)
- Place
- Mt. Olive, NC
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2521BBennett Ra Oliver Zodiac CH 601 HDS
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Greensboro FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050226003309A
- Case key
- 61066
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
Rupture of the engine's cooling system radiator, which allowed steam to fill the cockpit.
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
According to the pilot and the owner, shortly after takeoff the engine coolant radiator burst filling the cockpit with what he thought was smoke, The pilot stated that visibility quickly went to zero and he attempted to release the cockpit canopy to clear the smoke but collided with trees before he could get it open. The wings and under carriage were damaged. Examination of the airplane found that the engine coolant radiator tank failed at the forward belly of the airplane. There was no evidence of a fire.
Factual narrative
On February 26, 2005, at 1540 eastern standard time, an Oliver, Zodiac Ch-601 HDS homebuilt experimental airplane, N2521B, registered to a private individual and operated by the private pilot, collided with trees shortly after takeoff from a private grass strip in Mount Olive, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot received serious injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated in Mount Olive, North Carolina on February 26, 2005, at 1530.
According to the pilot and the owner, shortly after takeoff the radiator burst filling the cockpit with what he thought was smoke, The pilot stated that visibility quickly went to zero and he attempted to release the cockpit canopy to clear the smoke but impacted trees before he could get it open. The collision with the trees substantially damaged the wings and under carriage. Examination of the airplane found that the radiator tank failed at the forward belly of the airplane. There was no evidence of a fire, and no maintenance history for the radiator was availible.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2521B
- Reported as
- Bennett Ra Oliver Zodiac CH 601 HDS
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 68
- Engine
- Stratus Subaru EA81, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 21, 2004 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Mt. Olive, NC
- Destination
- PVT · Mount Olive, NC
- Airport
- PVT · Mount Olive
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
- 66
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Last flight review
- September 10, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 694 total · 12 in this make and model · 12 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- GSB, 12 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.