- Date
- May 16, 1995, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Millstone Twsp, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- UNREGHighcraft Buccaneer II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 8, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 38959
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to the seizure of the number one cylinder pistion and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
A witness observed the pilot flying his two place, unregistered, experimental home built airplane in the local area, at an altitude of between 200 to 300 feet AGL. The witness turned away from the airplane, and within one minute heard the sound of a crash. The airplane was found in an open field where it had impacted in a nose down attitude, fatally injuring the pilot. According to a written report from the FAA, examination of the number one cylinder revealed, '...scoring on cylinder walls above the intake and exhaust ports...', and '...piston scored on the side up through the piston rings....' Additionally, the pilot did not possess a pilot certificate or medical certificate.
Factual narrative
On May 16, 1995, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a Highcraft Buccaneer II, an unregistered, experimental, homebuilt airplane, struck the ground in Millstone, Township, New Jersey. The airplane was destroyed, and the non-certificated pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight which departed the Pearl Acres Airport, Millstone, about 1855, and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
A witness who spoke to the pilot prior to departure, and observed the takeoff reported, "...I saw and heard the initial takeoff run and all looked normal...." The airplane then disappeared from view, and a crash was heard by the witness's son.
According to the FAA, the airplane impacted in a nose down attitude. Fuel was found in the fuel tank, fuel line, and carburetor. Flight control continuity was verified.
Examination of the #1 cylinder on the engine revealed, "...scoring on cylinder walls above the intake and exhaust ports...", and "...piston scored on the side up through the piston rings...."
The pilot, who had owned the airplane for 2 years, had not registered it with the FAA. Additionally, he did not posses an FAA Airman Pilot Certificate, nor an FAA Airman Medical Certificate. The FAA reported that they estimated his total flight time as 65-70 hours, all in the Buccaneer II.
The pilot based the airplane at the Pearl Acres airport, which was approximately 1000 feet north of the accident site.
Aircraft
- Registration
- UNREG
- Reported as
- Highcraft Buccaneer II (BUCCANEER)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Airframe hours
- 98
- Engine
- Rotax 618, 74 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard G. Moffitt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- NONE
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 70 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TTN