CHI04FA215

The amateur-built airplane was destroyed by a post-accident fire following an in-flight breakup and subsequent explosion during cruise flight. The non-instrument rated pilot called for a weather briefing and was told that an instrument flight rules advisory was issued for the one-western third of Kansas and that the departure airport was currently reporting marginal visual flight rules weather conditions. The pilot did not file a flight plan during the weather briefing. At the time of departure, the airport's weather observation system reported an overcast ceiling of 900 feet and a surface visibility of 5 statute miles with mist. Combining aircraft radar track data with several weather products indicated that the accident airplane was operating within an overcast cloud layer prior to the accident. Just prior to the accident, aircraft radar track data showed the airplane in a climbing left turn, followed by a descending left turn that continued until the last radar return at 5,700 feet msl. The calculated average descent rate was 2,000 feet/min between the last two radar returns. The last radar return was 0.64 nm northeast of the accident site. A witness to the accident reported hearing an airplane overhead, which was followed by an increase in engine noise. The witness stated he "looked up and saw the plane fall out of the clouds in [an] inverted flat spin, the wing broke off, then the plane burst into flames [and] fell straight to the ground." No anomalies consistent with a preexisting condition were observed during the post-accident examination of the airframe and engine.

History of flight

On August 7, 2004, at 1021 central daylight time, an amateur-built Jorgensen Velocity XL-RG, N190J, built and piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed by a post-accident fire following an in-flight breakup and subsequent explosion near Belvidere, Kansas. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed along the route of flight. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot was fatally injured. The cross-country flight departed Dodge City Regional Airport (DDC) at 1000 and was en route to Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Melbourne, Florida.

At 0923:29 (hhmm:ss), the non-instrument rated pilot contacted Wichita Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) to obtain a visual flight rules (VFR) weather briefing for a flight from DDC to MLB. The pilot stated that his proposed departure time was 1000. The briefer told the pilot that an instrument flight rules (IFR) advisory was issued for the western one-third of Kansas and that DDC was currently reporting marginal VFR weather conditions. The pilot asked for and was provided the current weather conditions for Tulsa, Oklahoma. The pilot then asked about the marginal VFR conditions at DDC and was told that the conditions would continue until 1200. The pilot asked for and was provided the forecasted winds aloft for 6,000 and 9,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The briefing concluded with a discussion concerning the temporary flight restrictions (TFR) along the proposed route of flight. The pilot did not file a flight plan during the briefing. The weather briefing concluded at 0926:48.

Aircraft radar track data was collected from the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The data showed an airplane transmitting a VFR transponder code (1200) departing DDC at 1000:20. The radar facility's lower altitude limitation over DDC was about 3,000 feet msl. The airplane departed the DDC area to the southeast, between 3,500 and 3,600 feet msl. At 1002:15, radar contact was lost with the airplane approximately 6.2 nautical miles (nm) southeast of DDC.

At 1016:57, the radar facility began tracking an aircraft transmitting a VFR transponder code approximately 42.2 nm east-southeast of DDC and 6.5 nm west-northwest of the accident site. The airplane continued to the east-southeast, between 3,900 and 4,100 feet msl, until 1017:45 when radar contact was lost approximately 4.3 nm west-northwest of the accident site.

At 1020:21, the radar facility began tracking an airplane transmitting a VFR transponder code 0.8 nm south of the accident site. The airplane was at 5,600 feet msl established in a left climbing turn reaching 6,100 feet msl. The radar data then showed the airplane in a descending left turn until the last radar return at 1020:57. The calculated average descent rate was 2,000 feet/min between the last two radar returns. The last radar return was 0.64 nm northeast of the accident site at 5,700 feet msl. The radar facility's lower altitude limitation over the accident site was about 5,500 feet msl. The accident site elevation was approximately 1,894 feet msl.

A witness to the accident reported hearing an airplane overhead, which was followed by an increase in engine noise. The witness stated he "looked up and saw the plane fall out of the clouds in [an] inverted flat spin, the wing broke off, then the plane burst into flames [and] fell straight to the ground."

Damage to aircraft

The airplane was destroyed during the in-flight breakup, explosion, and subsequent ground fire.

Personnel information

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. The pilot was not instrument rated. FAA records show the pilot's last medical examination was completed on October 1, 2002, when he was issued a third-class medical certificate with the limitation "must wear corrective lenses & possess glasses for near & intermediate vision."

The pilot's flight logbook was reviewed and total flight times were calculated as of the accident flight. The pilot had a total flight experience of 614.0 hours, all of which were in single-engine airplanes. He had logged 520.0 hours as pilot-in-command (PIC). The pilot had no experience in actual instrument conditions and 3.2 hours in simulated instrument conditions. He had logged 25.1 hours of night flight experience.

The pilot had flown 88.1 hours during the past year, 36.7 hours during the prior 90 days and 10.8 hours during the previous 30 days. The accident flight was 0.3 hours in duration and was the only flight time accumulated on the day of the accident.

The pilot's first flight in a Velocity XL-RG model was logged on March, 13, 2000, and as of the accident flight, he had accumulated about 220 hours in the aircraft type. The pilot's last endorsement for a flight review, as required by regulation 14 CFR Part 61.56, was completed on May 13, 2003.

Aircraft information

The accident airplane was an amateur-built Jorgensen Velocity XL-RG, serial number 1. The Velocity XL-RG is a composite, canard-style airplane that incorporates a retractable landing gear and a constant speed propeller. The airplane has a swept wing plan form with large winglets that include rudder surfaces. The engine is mounted aft of the main cabin, between the left and right wings. The main cabin is configured to seat four occupants and has a suggested maximum takeoff weight of 2,800 lbs.

The airplane was issued an experimental airworthiness certificate on March 25, 2000. The airplane was built, owned and operated by the pilot. The aircraft had a total service time of about 210 hours at the time of the accident, according to the pilot's flight logbook.

The airplane was equipped with a 300 horsepower Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 engine, serial number L-16352-48A. The IO-540-C4B5 is a six-cylinder, 540 cubic inch displacement, fuel injected, horizontally opposed, reciprocating engine.

The propeller was a wooden, three-bladed MT Propellers MTV-9-B/LD178-102, hub serial number 99078.

The maintenance logbooks were not recovered during the investigation. As a result, the maintenance history for the airframe, engine, and propeller are unknown.

The airplane was serviced with 29.4 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation fuel on August 7, 2004, at the departure airport. The accident occurred during the first flight after being refueled.

Meteorological information

The departure airport (DDC) was located 49 nm west-northwest of the accident site. The airport was equipped with an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) that reported the following weather conditions seven minutes prior to the accident airplane's departure:

At 0953: Wind 170 degrees true at 12 knots, visibility 5 sm with mist, overcast ceiling at 900 feet above ground level (agl), temperature 19 degrees Celsius, dew point 17 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 30.05 inches-of-mercury.

The closest weather reporting location to the accident site was located at the Pratt Industry Airport (PTT), Pratt, Kansas, about 24 nm northeast of the accident site. The following weather conditions were reported by the PTT ASOS about ten minutes prior to the accident:

At 1010: Wind 160 degrees true at 7 knots, visibility 10 sm, overcast ceiling at 3,400 feet agl, temperature 18 degrees Celsius, dew point 14 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 30.05 inches-of-mercury.

Infrared and visible satellite imagery indicated a broken to overcast layer of clouds extending over Kansas and Oklahoma, with several areas of vertical development associated with rain showers. The closest defined area of rain showers associated to a cumulonimbus formation was about 50 nm south of the accident site. The radiative cloud top temperatures over the accident site were 8.54 degrees Celsius, which cor