- Date
- August 31, 1991, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Morganton, NC
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9QCIcard, Claude M. Sonerai II LT
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910831037419A
- Case key
- 8462
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 failure to maintain directional control of the airplane on the runway, and the inadvertent rotation of the airplane, resulting in an unplanned flight.
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 was performing high-speed taxi tests on the runway. There was no intent for flight. The experimental airplane was newly built, and had never been flown. The pilot had no experience in this model. While taxiing down the runway with the engine RPM set at 2,600, the left wing became airborne. The pilot tried to right the airplane, however it drifted to the right and off of the runway surface. The airplane then became airborne, and the pilot added full throttle. The aircraft would not climb, and the engine RPM would not increase, so the pilot elected to land in an adjacent field. The airplane collided with terrain during the forced landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9QC
- Reported as
- Icard, Claude M. Sonerai II LT (SONERAI II)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 816
- Engine
- Volkswagen, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Poole, James R. III
- Registered owner
- Icard, Claude M.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Airport
- MRN · Morganton-Lenoir, runway 21, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 140 total · 100 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 2 knots, gusting 5
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.