Crash of Experimental Kit Plane Immediately After Takeoff

The NTSB investigation for this accident is not yet complete. The Board expects to issue its statement of probable cause on 1/20/20.

On June 16, 2018, at 1040 central daylight time, an experimental kit Aircam, N81047, impacted terrain during its initial climb from runway 27 at Galt Field Airport (10C), Greenwood, Illinois. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces, and the airline transport pilot and a passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to Two If By Sea LLC, and operated by the pilot under Part 91 as a personal flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was destined to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.

The pilot stated that he arrived at 10C at 0800 to attend the Barnstormer Fly-In. For the departure from 10C, he back taxied the airplane on runway 27 to a point that had 1,400 ft of available runway. He performed a preflight check of the flight controls and configured the wing flaps for the takeoff to the second notch setting, which he said was about a 20 degrees extension for added performance. He visually verified the extension of the flaps. He reported that the airplane does not require the use of flaps for a short takeoff roll, and the airplane make and model had a takeoff roll of 300 ft. He said that he rarely used flaps and the accident takeoff with flaps selected was the only thing that was different from previous takeoffs.

The pilot stated during the takeoff he rotated the airplane at 50 knots at which time the airplane lifted off the runway. He said that as he set his pitch attitude, very shortly after lift-off, the airplane started an uncommanded slow roll to the right. He stated that he applied full left aileron control input and pushed forward on the control stick. He glanced at the airspeed indicator and at "last look" it indicated 50-55 knots. He then retarded [left] engine power to stop the roll, which was unsuccessful. The pilot stated that he had practiced stalls at high density altitude and in his experience roll effectiveness was not degraded until a full stall condition was present.

A witness stated the airplane back taxied only about 100 ft past the runway threshold and then turned around for what appeared to be getting ready for take-off. He heard the engines throttle up, and the airplane began to rotate for take-off. After the initial pitch for takeoff, the airplane did not get higher that about 75 ft when it was clear that the airplane was not going to be able to gain further altitude. The right wing dropped, and the airplane began a sharp right bank toward the right fence off the runway. The airplane hit the ground with the right wing first, cartwheeled onto its nose, and finally came to rest onto its floats directly on the north property line of the airport.

A second witness, who was about 200 ft from the runway 9 threshold, stated he heard the pilot make a radio transmission that he was going to back taxi on runway 27. The witness watched the airplane back taxi and very shortly after it crossed the numbers of runway 9, it stopped and turned around. A few seconds later, the pilot applied full throttle, and the airplane began to roll forward. After the airplane lifted off and about 50 - 75 ft of altitude, the right wing dropped, and the airplane began to turn to the right side of the runway towards the property line of the airport.

Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed the outboard section of the right wing was bent upward and had several broken structural components. The empennage was broken off and attached to the fuselage only by the flight control cables. The outboard section of left wing was bent downward and had several broken structural components. The forward section of the fuselage was bent downwards, and the nose section of the airplane was crushed. The instrument panel was laying on top of the nose section exposing the back of the instrument panel switches and circuit breakers. The wing attachment struts, at the wing to fuselage attachment area, were bent and cracked. The left engine and propeller were intact. The right engine did not have any visible damage and all the propeller blades were broken off near the blade roots. The engines were inspected, started, and checked for proper operation. Both engines operated normally and indicated no malfunctions at the time of inspection. Flight and engine control continuity was confirmed. Inspection of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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