ERA21LA356

The accident flight was the vintage biplane’s first since it had been restored 2 years prior. During takeoff, once the airplane was in ground effect, the pilot described that the airplane would not climb any further even though the engine was producing power. The pilot elected to land the airplane in a nearby field and during the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the magnetos were set to fire about 7° away from the proper position in order to obtain full engine power. Furthermore, a historical reference handbook for the vintage engine stated that the magnetos needed to have an external lever connected to a control in the cockpit to mechanically vary the magneto to engine timing while the engine was running. The magnetos installed on the accident airplane did not have these controls installed. Based on this information, it is likely the engine could not produce full power as a result of the incorrect magneto timing.

On September 13, 2021, about 1405 eastern daylight time, a Waco GXE, N8564, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Burt, New York. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, the accident flight was the first flight since the airplane was restored a few years prior. The airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed on the morning of the accident. During takeoff, the airplane departed the turf runway “normally,” and once it was in ground effect, it would not climb any further even though the “engine was producing power just fine.” The pilot elected to land the airplane in a nearby field to avoid trees in the flight path. During the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. According to the maintenance logs, in March 2013, the engine was reassembled and reinstalled on the airplane. The next maintenance entry, in June 2019, with 0 hours since major overhaul, indicated that the engine and propeller were inspected in accordance with a 100-hr inspection. A high-speed taxi test was performed and the engine and propeller were found to be in airworthy condition. The final entry of the engine log was dated September 9, 2021. It indicated that the engine had 38 hours SMOH, a 100-hr inspection was performed, and the engine was found to be in an airworthy condition. The airplane was equipped with a vintage Curtis Aeroplane Model OX-5 engine. The engine was designed to be equipped with a variable timing magneto that assisted with engine starting. A postaccident examination of the engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the accident airplane’s magnetos were set to fire about 22° before top dead center (BTDC). The engine logbook indicated that the magnetos should be timed to 30° BTDC. To obtain a “full advanced” setting, the engine historical reference handbook stated that the magnetos needed to have an external lever connected to a control in the cockpit to mechanically vary the magneto to engine timing while the engine was running. In addition, the handbook stated that the magnetos should be timed to 28° BTDC. The magnetos installed on the accident airplane’s engine did not have external control levers and without the levers, the ignition could not be timed to 28°-30° BTDC.