WPR19FA235

The pilot purchased the accident airplane, which was his first race airplane, about 8 months before the accident flight and had flown the airplane for an estimated total of 10 hours. Since purchasing the airplane, he had aerobatic training and tailwheel training. A witness, a friend of the pilot who was flying an airplane alongside the accident airplane for the accident flight, stated that sometime before the flight, the pilot mentioned that he had recently rolled the airplane but that it didn’t “go particularly well.” They discussed the maneuver and how to enter and recover from it; the accident flight was the first flight after that discussion. The two airplanes departed and conducted several oval maneuvers above the airport. The witness reported that the pilot wanted to practice a roll, so the two airplanes climbed to about 4,000 ft above ground level. The witness stated that the accident pilot started a “pretty steep” dive; the witness had to maneuver to get the airplane back in sight. When it came into view, the airplane was inverted and slightly nose down. The airplane then entered a steep, tight spiral. The witness dove his airplane and yelled directions over the radio, but the pilot did not respond, and the airplane did not change. It continued to descend for about four or five more spirals when the airplane uprighted. The witness continued to dive his airplane and yell directions over the radio. The witness stated that the airplane appeared to level about 500 ft above the ground and entered a slight about 180° right turn. It appeared to be flying slower than before, but there were no visual indications of anomalies with the airplane. The witness continued to maneuver his airplane to keep the accident airplane in sight and then saw a cloud of dust; the airplane had impacted the ground. GPS data indicated that just before the airplane’s abrupt descent, the ground speed increased from about 115 knots at 6,700 ft GPS altitude to about 160 knots at 6,200 ft GPS altitude. As the data began to show a steep descent trend, the ground speed reached 169 knots; the descent lasted about 14 seconds. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. Given the pilot’s overall inexperience both in the accident airplane and with the roll maneuver, along with a change in the spiral dive at about 500 ft, it is likely the pilot lost situational awareness and was unable to recover from the maneuver before the airplane impacted the ground.

The pilot purchased the accident airplane on January 24, 2019. The witness indicated that the pilot moved the airplane to Big Spring, Texas, about April 2019. According to the witness, the pilot regularly flew a Commander 114 outside of the United States; the accident airplane was his first race airplane. The witness indicated that it took the pilot a “little bit” to get used to the maneuverability of the airplane. Since purchasing the airplane, the pilot had aerobatic training and tailwheel training. The pilot made at least three trips to Texas to fly the accident airplane, for an estimated total of 10 hours. The witness stated that sometime before the accident flight, the pilot mentioned that he had recently rolled the airplane but that it didn’t “go particularly well.” They discussed the maneuver and how to enter and recover from it; the accident flight was the first flight after that discussion. On August 23, 2019, about 2015 central daylight time, an experimental Meyers Midget 0100 airplane, N881MM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Big Spring, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A witness, who was a friend of the pilot and was flying an airplane alongside the accident airplane, reported that the purpose of the flight was for the accident pilot to practice flying in close proximity to another airplane. They both took off from Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport (BPG), Big Spring, Texas, and conducted several oval maneuvers above the airport. The pilot also wanted to practice a roll. The two airplanes climbed to about 4,000 ft above ground level. The witness stated that the accident pilot started a “pretty steep” dive; the witness had to maneuver to get the airplane back in sight. When it came into view, the airplane was inverted and slightly nose down. The airplane then entered a steep, tight spiral. The witness dove his airplane and yelled directions over the radio, but the pilot did not respond, and the airplane did not change. The accident airplane continued to descend for about four or five more spirals when the airplane uprighted. The witness continued to dive his airplane and yell directions over the radio. The witness stated that the airplane appeared to level about 500 ft above the ground and entered a slight, about 180° right turn. It appeared to be flying slower than before; but there were no visual indications of anomalies with the airplane. The witness continued to maneuver his airplane to keep the airplane in sight and then saw a cloud of dust; the airplane had impacted the ground. Data downloaded from the accident airplane’s Garmin GPSMAP 496 indicated that just before the airplane’s abrupt descent, the ground speed increased from about 115 knots at 6,700 ft GPS altitude to about 160 knots at about 6,200 ft GPS altitude. As the data began to show a steep descent trend, the ground speed reached 169knots; the descent lasted about 14 seconds. The two GoPro cameras that were installed on the airplane did not capture the accident sequence. The airplane came to rest about 5 miles southwest of BPG in desert-like terrain with vegetation. The debris path was about 100 ft long. The first identified point of impact was a grouping of three ground scars in the dirt. Within this area were fragments of wheel pants, small fragments of the right wingtip, and an engine intake pipe. Additional fragments of wheel pants, fractured pieces of the wood propeller, and engine exhaust pipes were scattered along the ground leading to another ground scar, which was about 5 ft from the main wreckage; it consisted of three perpendicular slash marks, along with pieces of engine and the carburetor. The last piece of the debris path was the main wreckage. The airplane came to rest mostly whole and on its belly. The front fuselage exhibited heavy impact-related damage. The engine was mostly fracture separated from the firewall and came to rest nose down in the dirt. The wood propeller blades were fractured at the blade root. The fuel tank was breached, and the vegetation below it exhibited damage consistent with fuel. The left wing was wrinkled throughout at about a 45° angle from outboard to inboard. The aft fuselage exhibited crush and wrinkle damage consistent with impact. The empennage exhibited crush damage but was otherwise intact. The right wing exhibited wrinkle damage throughout. The inboard wing root was crushed aft, and the right wingtip was fracture separated. Flight control continuity was established throughout the airframe. Postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The spark plugs had normal wear, and spark was obtained when the magnetos were rotated. When the crankshaft was rotated by hand, drivetrain continuity was established to the accessory section. The inside of the engine was examined using a borescope, and the piston heads, valves, and cylinder walls exhibited normal operating wear signatures.