ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 263706
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| Date: | Monday 7 June 2021 |
| Time: | 14:20 |
| Type: |  Van's RV-6A |
| Owner/operator: | Fashionable Fittings Inc |
| Registration: | N94PJ |
| MSN: | 23286 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2004 |
| Engine model: | Superior XP-IO360-B1CC |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Porterville Municipal Airport (PTV/KPTV), Porterville, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Porterville Airport, CA (PTV/KPTV) |
| Sierra Sky Park Airport, CA (E79) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 07, 2021, about 1420, a Vans RV-6A experimental airplane, N94PJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Porterville, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot departed from his home airport earlier in the day and landed at the accident airport to refuel. The pilot refueled the airplane with about 17.5 gallons and then started the engine. A witness reported the engine start sounded as though it was a “hot start” with the airplane rpm’s immediately accelerating to a near-maximum setting. The airplane then proceeded to take off and, as it climbed, the engine was making “popping” sounds. Surveillance video showed the airplane made a hard right bank, with the wings near perpendicular to the ground, consistent with the pilot attempting to return to the airport. A performance study of the video revealed that when the airplane reached its maximum altitude of about 240 ft, its ground speed had decreased well below the stall speed. The airplane then assumed a wings-level attitude consistent with the pilot correcting for the steep attitude. Thereafter, the airplane rapidly descended in a left-wing-low attitude nearly perpendicular to the terrain before impacting the ground and immediately erupted into flames.
Postaccident examination revealed that the keys were out of the ignition and the fuel selector was in the “OFF” position. Given the available evidence it is unknown if the pilot had intentionally chosen to configure the airplane with the selector off.
The engine examination revealed no obvious reason for the loss of engine power as described by the witness. The fuel system was partially destroyed by fire; as a result, the continuity and functionality of the fuel system could not be ascertained.
Probable Cause: A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://abc30.com/timely-porterville-fire-plane-airport/10758418/
https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2021/06/07/plane-crashes-porterville-fully-engulfed-crews-investigate/7593772002/
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=103224
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N94PJ
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N94PJ
Location
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Jun-2021 00:30 | Geno | Added |
| 08-Jun-2021 11:56 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Jun-2021 14:35 | Captain Adam | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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