CHI99LA169

Witnesses reported that the experimental airplane was flying about 200 to 300 feet above the ground when it began a roll-type maneuver. According to the witnesses, the airplane became inverted and then descended vertically into the ground. The on-scene investigation revealed no airframe or flight control anomalies that would prevent flight. The pilot did not possess an FAA Statement of Aerobatic Competency.

On May 31, 1999, at 1320 central daylight time, a Hornbeck Glassair, N83PG, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed when it impacted the ground following a witness reported low altitude maneuver. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight departed Ulysses, Kansas, exact time unknown.

Witnesses reported that N83PG was flying east 200 to 300 feet above the ground. They said N83PG was flying at a high rate of speed when it began a roll-like maneuver. The witnesses said the airplane rolled inverted, pitched down, and flew into the ground at a near vertical angle. One witness reported that N83PG's engine was running at "...full throttle..." as it descended into the ground. Other witnesses said the engine sounded normal during the maneuver leading to the accident.

N83PG's wreckage path was about 60 feet long on an approximate magnetic heading of 010 degrees. Most of the wreckage was confined to two areas at the opposite ends of the wreckage path. A section of the wing, next to the main spar and the cockpit aft to the empennage, was at the beginning of the wreckage trail. The engine and portions of the fuselage forward of the instrument panel were at the opposite end of the wreckage trail. The on-scene investigation revealed control continuity for all three axises.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)records, the accident pilot did not possess a Statement of Aerobatic Competency.

The pilot's autopsy was performed on June 1, 1999, at Cimarron Pathology, P.A., Liberal, Kansas. The toxicology examination was conducted by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The examination report stated the toxicological samples were received in a putrified condition. According to a CAMI laboratory representative, the levels of ethanol, methanol, isobutonal, and acetaldehyde shown on the toxicology report were the result of putrification.