CEN19TA180

The pilot said he became distracted and the airplane’s altitude and airspeed decreased too much to land at the airport, so he attempted an off-field landing and impacted terrain. Postaccident examination revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.

On June 22, 2019, about 0710 eastern daylight time, an Elmwood Christavia Mark 1, N222PN, collided with the ground 2,000 yards short of runway 24 at Lancaster County-Mc Whirter Field (LKR), Lancaster, South Carolina. The private pilot sustained minor injuries and the passenger was seriously injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed near the accident site at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Lancaster County-Mc Whirter Field (LKR). Lancaster, South Carolina, about 0630. The pilot did not complete NTSB Form 6120.1-2, Pilot-Operator Aircraft Accident Report. However, he was interviewed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector after his release from the hospital. According to the inspector, the pilot told him he had been distracted and made the mistake of getting too low and too slow. When he realized he could not make the airport, he made an off-field landing. The inspector reported both landing gears had separated from the aircraft, the left-wing lift strut was bent and broken, the bottom of the aircraft was damaged, and the right side cabin floor board was broken. The wooden propeller was shattered and bore indications that the engine was running at high power at impact with the ground. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.