# NTSB CEN14LA003: Kenneth M Franz Ultra PUP, N106KF, Belleville, TX, October 7, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 7, 2013, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC) - Place: Belleville, TX - Coordinates: 29.940834, -96.245002 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.9408&lon=-96.2450&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report October 3, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 88183 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN14LA003 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88183/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88183 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14LA003 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle-of-attack while turning back to the airport instead of landing straight ahead following a partial loss of engine power, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. The reason for the partial loss of engine power could be not determined based on the available information. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=05631AQ), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: angle of attack](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md?model=05631AQ), [All aircraft, 990 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md) - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=05631AQ), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md?model=05631AQ), [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342); cases with it: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=05631AQ), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md) - [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05631AQ), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot was taking off for a personal flight. The pilot reported that, just after takeoff, the engine started having problems and that the "motor was coming in and out." He attempted to return to the airport, but as he was turning the airplane, it departed controlled flight and subsequently impacted a field just west of the airport. An on-scene examination of the airplane revealed that it had impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. The airplane's right wing and main landing gear were separated from the fuselage, and two blades of the three-bladed propeller were broken off at the hub. About 10 gallons of fuel was found in the two wing tanks, which held about 14 gallons. Due to a federal government shutdown at the time of the accident, the engine was not retained, and a follow-on examination of the engine was not conducted. It is likely that, during the turn back to the airport following the partial loss of engine power, the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed and exceeded the airplane's critical angle-of-attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. ## Factual narrative On October 7, 2013, about 1345 central daylight time, a Kenneth M. Franz Ultra Pup 2, N106KF, owned and operated by a private individual impacted terrain about 1 mile from the Grawunder Field Airport (06R), Bellville, Texas, following a loss of engine power after takeoff. The pilot, the sole person on board the airplane, was seriously injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.The pilot reported that he'd just taken off from 06R when the airplane's engine began having problems. He told a Texas Highway Patrol officer that responded to the scene that his "motor was coming in and out on him." He made an attempt to return to the airport, but as he was making the turn, the airplane departed controlled flight. It impacted in a field just west of the airport. At 1335, weather conditions at the Brenham Municipal Airport, Brenham Texas, 10 miles north of the accident site were wind 020 degrees at 4 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies, temperature 80 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 39 degrees F, and altimeter 30.13 inches of Mercury. An examination of the airplane showed the airplane had impacted in the field in a nose low attitude. The airplane's right wing and main landing gear were separated from the fuselage. Two blades of the three-bladed propeller were broken off at the hub. Approximately 5 gallons of fuel was drained from the left wing, which was leaking fuel at the accident site. A representative of the company that recovered the airplane said about the same amount fuel was in the right wing. He said that the airplane holds 7 gallons of fuel in each wing. The Federal government was shut down on October 1, 2013, and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration were furloughed. No follow on examinations of the airplane were conducted. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N106KF](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N106KF-2015-01-05), registration cancelled 2015-01-05, S/N 0042, built 2013 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: KENNETH M FRANZ ULTRA PUP (2) - Registry model: [Kenneth M Franz ULTRA PUP](https://openairdocs.org/model/kenneth-m-franz-ultra-pup) (registry code 05631AQ) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 0042 - Year built: 2013 - Engines: Volkswagen 60 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: 06R, Bellville, TX - Destination: 06R, Bellville, TX - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 71; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; seat: front ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 39 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: K11R, 10 nm away ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 6, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88183. 1.5 MB in all. - Memorandum of Record, Investigation Reconstruction (item 1, .PDF, 103 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442002&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Record,%20Investigation%20Reconstruction-Master.PDF - Memorandums of Conversation (item 2, .PDF, 207 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442003&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandums%20of%20Conversation-Master.PDF - Airport Information, Grawunder Field (item 3, .PDF, 692 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442004&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Airport%20Information,%20Grawunder%20Field-Master.PDF - Weather Information (item 4, .PDF, 452 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442005&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Information-Master.PDF 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.