# NTSB CEN16LA353: Stanton DR-1, N500PY, Plain City, OH, September 4, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 4, 2016, 18:40 local (22:40 UTC) - Place: Plain City, OH - Coordinates: 40.153888, -83.274444 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1539&lon=-83.2744&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report November 15, 2018 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA Columbus FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 93951 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN16LA353 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93951/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93951 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA353 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Stanton Todd A STANTON DR1, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=05634H9), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Stanton Todd A STANTON DR1, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05634H9), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Stanton Todd A STANTON DR1, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05634H9), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot reported that the experimental, amateur-built airplane inadvertently became airborne during a high-speed taxi test. Two witnesses said that the airplane was in level flight about 200 ft above ground level and heading toward a tree line when the engine lost power. The airplane abruptly nosed straight down, struck a backyard playground set and hickory trees, and impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest upright about 5 ft from the initial impact crater and about 1/2 mile from the departure end of the pilot's private runway. The engine was not examined, and the pilot did not respond to inquiries regarding the accident. ## Factual narrative On September 4, 2016, about 1940 eastern daylight time, a Stanton DR-1, an amateur-built replica of a Fokker Triplane, N500PY, was substantially damage when the engine lost power and collided with objects and terrain near Plain City, Ohio. The pilot was seriously injured. There were no ground injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot had been building the airplane for several years. For several months, he been conducting taxi tests in preparation for its maiden flight. He told a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that the airplane inadvertently became airborne during his last high-speed taxi test. Witnesses saw the airplane in level flight about 200 feet above ground level and headed towards a tree line when the engine lost power. The airplane abruptly nosed straight down, struck a backyard playground set and hickory trees, and impacted the ground. FAA inspectors said the airplane came to rest upright about five feet from the initial impact crater and about one-half mile from the departure end of the pilot's private runway. There was a slight fuel leak but no fire. The inspectors were unable to determine why the engine lost power. The pilot did not respond to inquiries. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N500PY](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N500PY-2018-12-04), registration cancelled 2018-12-04, S/N 02272007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Stanton DR-1 - Registry model: [Stanton Todd A STANTON DR1](https://openairdocs.org/model/stanton-todd-a-stanton-dr1) (registry code 05634H9) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 02272007 - Year built: 2015 - Airframe hours: 0 - Engines: Subaru EA 81 73 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, December 1, 2015 - Departed: None, Plain City, OH - Destination: None, Plain City, OH - Airport: NONE, Stanton, runway 14, 3,300 × 100 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: single; restraint: 4-point ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 110° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 30.19 inHg - Observed at: OSU, 10 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20160904020799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160904020799A), Sep 4, 2016: Stanton, Todd A. STANTON DR.1, Plain City, OH, Substantial damage. On 09/04/2016 at about 1840 (local), N500PY (a 2015 stanton dr.1 triplane, serial number 02272007), lost engine power during climb-out after takeoff. Witnesses… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 15, 2018, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93951. 219 KB in all. - Memorandum of Conversation (item 1, .PDF, 53 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40465860&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Conversation-Master.PDF - Witness Statements (item 2, .PDF, 166 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40465861&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Witness%20Statements-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.