WPR19LA062

The pilot and passenger departed on a personal flight to a nearby airport. Video footage captured by an on-board camera revealed that, while in the traffic pattern at a groundspeed of 77 knots, the sound of the engine's power sharply decreased, and the pilot's hand movement was consistent with a power reduction. The airplane's elevator control surfaces were consistent with the pilot commanding positive pitch to the airplane. For the next few seconds, the airplane continued in a left turn; the sound of the engine was consistent with a power increase. Shortly thereafter, the left wing dropped rapidly, and the nose of the airplane began falling through the horizon. The airplane's left bank continued to increase. The airplane descended toward the ground in a left bank about 90° until the airplane impacted terrain about 2,000 ft from the approach end of the runway. The passenger stated that the left wing "fluttered" like it stalled, and the airplane subsequently descended like a "lawn dart." The video revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane or engine. It is likely that during the turn, the pilot did not maintain sufficient airspeed and exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall, loss of control, and subsequent impact with terrain.

According to the passenger, there were no flight controls installed in the rear seat. The airframe and engine logbooks were not located during the investigation. The kit manufacturer's website stated that the airplane's stall speed was 58 kts. On January 12, 2019, about 1115 Pacific standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Vans Aircraft Inc. RV8A, N800KE, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Langley, Washington. The pilot was fatally injured, and the passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an Alert Notification for the missing airplane after the pilot of another airplane made a distress call for an experimental airplane that had gone down. A search ensued and the airplane was located by local law enforcement about 15 minutes later. The pilot and passenger departed Snohomish County Airport, Paine Field (PAE), Everett, Washington, on a personal flight to a nearby airport. While approaching Whidbey Air Park Airport (W10), Langley, Washington, for landing, a witness reported that the airplane was turning from the base to final leg of the airport traffic pattern when its nose dropped and it rolled to the left; the airplane subsequently entered a steep dive and spun into the trees. The passenger reported that, during the turn from base to final, the airplane's left wing was down, and it "fluttered" like it stalled. The airplane then descended like a "lawn dart." The airplane was equipped with a Garmin VIRB onboard camera, which was mounted just aft of the front seat behind the pilot's right shoulder and captured the accident flight. Review of the footage revealed that the pilot initiated a left turn from the downwind to base leg of the airport traffic pattern at an altitude of 540 ft mean sea level (msl) and a groundspeed about 77 knots (kts). About 6 seconds later, the sound of the engine's power sharply decreased, and the pilot's hand movement was consistent with a power reduction. The airplane's elevator control surfaces were consistent with the pilot commanding positive pitch to the airplane. For the next second, the airplane continued in a left turn; the sound of the engine was consistent with a power increase. Shortly thereafter, the left wing dropped rapidly, and the nose of the airplane began falling through the horizon. The airplane's left bank continued to increase, and pine trees began filling the camera's field of view. The airplane descended toward the ground in a left bank about 90° before impacting trees. The footage revealed no evidence of pre-impact anomalies or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane or engine. The Island County Coroner's Office, Coupeville, Washington, conducted an autopsy of the pilot. The pilot's cause of death was "multiple blunt trauma injuries." Toxicology testing performed at the FAA's Forensic Sciences Laboratorywas negative for carbon monoxide, ethanol, and tested-for drugs. The pilot's most recent Federal Aviation Administration airman medical certificate had expired; he had not completed the requirements of BasicMed. The airplane came to rest in wooded terrain with heavy vegetation about 2,000 ft north of the approach end of runway 16. The airplane was inverted and both wings had separated. The damage to trees in the area of the accident site was consistent with a steep vertical descent before impact.