# NTSB CEN17LA318: Knapp Easy Raider, N6862K, Rochester, IN, August 14, 2017 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 14, 2017, 19:20 local (23:20 UTC) - Place: Rochester, IN - Coordinates: 41.067501, -86.194168 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.0675&lon=-86.1942&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report March 18, 2019 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA - SAIBs cited in the narratives: [SAIB CE-09-35](https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-09-35) (OpenAirDocs) - NTSB case key (mKey): 95824 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN17LA318 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/95824/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=95824 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA318 ## Probable cause A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. ## 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: [Knapp John EASY RAIDER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=056340L), [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. - [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342) (defining event); cases with it: [Knapp John EASY RAIDER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=056340L), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md) - [Landing: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Knapp John EASY RAIDER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=056340L), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Knapp John EASY RAIDER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=056340L), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot, who was the builder of the experimental, amateur-built airplane, reported that the engine had recently been rebuilt and installed on the airplane. The engine had a "couple" of hours of ground run-up time, and the accident occurred on the first flight. The pilot was "crow-hopping" the airplane on the runway when he decided to take off. Upon reaching about 500 ft above the ground, the engine stopped responding to throttle control movements and the propeller continued to rotate. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude, and he landed the airplane in a factory parking lot, where it hit a steel handrail. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any reason for the loss of engine response. A review of the weather conditions revealed that carburetor ice was unlikely at takeoff engine power settings. ## Factual narrative On August 14, 2017, at 1920 eastern daylight time, an amateur built Knapp Easy Raider airplane, N6862K, collided with a steel handrail during a forced landing in Rochester, Indiana, following a partial loss of engine power. The student pilot received minor injuries and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual flight rules conditions existed near the accident site at the time of the accident, and a flight plan had not been filed. The local flight was departing from the Fulton County Airport, (RCR), Rochester, Indiana, at the time of the accident.The pilot reported that the engine had recently been rebuilt and that he installed it in the airplane himself. The engine had a "couple" of hours of ground run-up time on it and the accident occurred on the first flight. The pilot was "crow-hopping" the airplane on the runway when he decided to takeoff. The pilot reported that upon reaching an altitude about 500 ft above the ground, the engine stopped responding to throttle control movements and the propeller continued to turn. Unable to maintain altitude, the pilot landed the airplane in a factory parking lot where it hit a steel handrail. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any reason for the loss of engine response. The temperature and dewpoint recorded at the Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA), Fort Wayne, Indiana, at 1954, was 79°C and 62.9°C respectively. According to the Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) CE-09-35 "Carburetor Icing Prevention" chart, the conditions were conducive for serious carburetor icing at glide power. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6862K](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6862K), registered now, S/N ER012 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Knapp Easy Raider - Registry model: [Knapp John EASY RAIDER](https://openairdocs.org/model/knapp-john-easy-raider) (registry code 056340L) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 582SER](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-582ser) (registry code 55556, 2 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: ER012 - Engines: Rotax 582 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: RCR, ROCHESTER, IN - Destination: RCR, ROCHESTER, IN - Airport: RCR, Fulton County, runway 29, 5,001 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 250° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Altimeter: 29.85 inHg - Observed at: RCR ## 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 20170814015809A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170814015809A), Aug 14, 2017: John Knapp EASY RAIDER, Rochester, IN, Substantial damage. On August 14, 2017, at approximately 1845 eastern standard time, 500FT north of runway 29 at the Rochester Fulton County Airport, a 2016 experimental homebuilt… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 24, 2018, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=95824. 162 KB in all. - Record of Conversations (item 1, .PDF, 94 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40462398&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversations-Master.PDF - Icing Probability Chart (item 2, .PDF, 68 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40462399&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Icing%20Probability%20Chart-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.