CHI99LA137

During the initial climb, the airplane was witnessed to pitch nose-down, enter a spin, and impact terrain. According to a pilot, who was current in the accident airplane, the altitude and location where the airplane entered the stall/spin would be consistent with where the landing gear would have been in retraction. According to pilots, who had flown in the accident airplane, the gear retraction procedure was to climb to 1,500 feet above ground level, slow the airplane to within 10 MPH of the stall (power-off, gear-down, flaps-retracted) speed, and then retract the landing gear by the manually-actuated lever. According to pilots, who had flown in the accident airplane, when the airplane was held in a stalled condition it would rapidly pitch down and bank sharply to the left. The designer of the airplane stated that during a power-on stall the wing would drop, 'almost vertical,' and that 300 to 500 feet would be lost during the recovery from the stall.

History of flight

On May 1, 1999, at 1400 central daylight time, a Berrick GP-4, N54WB, owned and piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain following a departure from controlled flight during initial climb from runway 16 (4,100 feet by 100 feet, dry/concrete) at the Plattsmouth Municipal Airport, Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot-in-command and one pilot-rated passenger sustained fatal injuries. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

Witnesses to the accident stated that the airplane was approximately 500 to 700 feet above ground level (agl) when the airplane pitched nose down, entered a spin, and impacted the terrain. According to a pilot who was current in the accident airplane, the altitude and location where the airplane entered the spin, would be consistent with where the landing gear would have been in retraction.

The airplane came to rest approximately two statute miles south of the departure end of runway 16 and .25 statute miles south of the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and Nebraska State Highway 1.

Personal information

The pilot-in-command (PIC), born September 15, 1926, was the holder of a commercial pilot certificate with privileges for single engine land airplane, and held an instrument rating. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records indicate that the pilot's last aviation medical examination was performed on June 6, 1997. The pilot possessed a third class medical with the limitation that he, "Wear corrective lenses for near and distance vision."

According to the pilot's flight records, he had accumulated a total of 1,978 hours of flight time prior to the accident flight. According to the logbooks, the pilot had accumulated 181.4 hours in the accident airplane. According to FAA records, the pilot had completed four phases of the Wings - Pilot Proficiency Award Program. The most recent phase was completed on March 18, 1999, and was awarded by the FAA Safety Program Manager of the Lincoln Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).

The pilot-rated passenger, born June 26, 1939, was the holder of a private pilot certificate with privileges for single engine land airplane. FAA records indicate that the pilot's last aviation medical examination was performed on November 25, 1997. The pilot possessed a third class medical with the limitation that he, "Must wear corrective lenses."

According to the pilot's flight logbook and FAA records, he had accumulated a total of 446 hours of flight time prior to the accident flight. According to the logbook, the pilot had not logged any flight time in the accident airplane. According to FAA records, the pilot had completed two phases of the Wings - Pilot Proficiency Award Program. The most recent phase was completed on June 21, 1997, and was awarded by the FAA Safety Program Manager of the Lincoln FSDO.

Aircraft information

The aircraft was a Berrick GP-4, N54WB, serial number 151. The GP-4 is a built-by-plans, all-wood, full cantilever low-wing airplane with a retractable landing gear and can accommodate a pilot and a single passenger in a side-by-side orientation. The airplane was constructed by the owner, William H. Berrick, and was certified as an experimental/amateur-built airplane by the FAA Lincoln FSDO on February 28, 1998. The airplane had logged a total-time of 181.4 hours prior to the accident flight. The last condition inspection of the airplane was completed March 24, 1999, by the owner/builder.

The engine was a Textron Lycoming IO-360-A1A, serial number L-760-51, and prior to the accident flight had accumulated 181.4 hours since major overhaul.

Meteorological information

A weather observation station, located at the Eppley Airfield Airport (OMA), 23 nautical miles from the accident site on 003-degree magnetic heading, reported the weather 8 minutes prior to the accident as:

Observation Time: 1352 cdt Wind: 140-degrees at 10 knots Visibility: 10 statute miles Sky Condition: Sky Clear Temperature: 21-degrees centigrade Dew Point Temperature: 05-degrees centigrade Pressure: 30.16 inches of mercury

Wreckage and impact information

FAA Inspectors, from the Lincoln FSDO, represented the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for the on-scene portion of the investigation.

The airplane came to rest approximately two statute miles south of the departure end of runway 16 which was approximately .25 statute miles south of the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and Nebraska State Highway 1. The wreckage was contained within a 50-yard radius on an embankment originating from the shoulder of U.S. Highway 75.

The airplane was destroyed during the impact with terrain. The wreckage was found nose down, with the forward portion of the engine and one propeller blade buried in the terrain. All airframe components were accounted for at the accident site. Aileron, elevator, and rudder control continuity was established from the control surfaces to the cockpit. The landing gear and flap positions could not be determined due to impact damage.

Engine continuity could not be established due to impact damage. The oil pan, fuel injector, and starter were found separated from the engine. The engine crankshaft was found separated from the engine/propeller flange, which was found still attached to the propeller hub assembly. The propeller blades exhibited rearward and S-shaped bending. The spark plugs were removed and were light gray in color with no oil fouling noted. There was a fluid, blue in color, leaking from a ruptured fuel tank.

No anomalies, relative to the airplane or its systems, were found that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

Medical and pathological information

An autopsy was performed on the pilot-in-command at the Douglas County Hospital Morgue, Omaha, Nebraska, on May 2, 1999. The autopsy report listed the cause of death as, "... massive blunt trauma to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and extremities...".

A Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report was prepared by the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The toxicology report indicated the following results:

* No Ethanol detected in Kidney * 4 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Acetaldehyde detected in Kidney * 29 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Ethanol detected in Muscle * No legal or illegal drugs were detected in Kidney

The toxicology report noted, "The ethanol found in this case is from postmortem ethanol production and not from the ingestion of ethanol."

An autopsy was performed on the pilot-rated passenger at the Douglas County Hospital Morgue, Omaha, Nebraska, on May 2, 1999. The autopsy report listed the cause of death as, "... massive blunt trauma to the head, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and extremities...".

A Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report was prepared by the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The toxicology report indicated the following results:

* No cyanide detected in Blood * 12 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Ethanol detected in Blood * 33 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Acetaldehyde detected in Blood * 1 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Acetaldehyde detected in Brain * No Ethanol detected in Brain * 68 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Isobutanol detected in Brain * 204 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Methanol detected in Brain * 39 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-Propanol detected in Brain * No Ethanol detected in Muscle Fluid * 2 (mg/dL, mg/hg) Isobutanol detected in Muscle Fluid * 1 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-Butanol detected in Muscle Fluid * No legal or illegal drugs were detected in Blood

The toxicology report noted, "The ethanol found in this case may be from postmortem ethanol production and not from the ingestion of ethanol."

Additional information

In a written statement, provided by the designer of the GP-4 airplane, the stall characteris