Eachon TIME WARP SPITFIRE 9 accident near Lakeland, FL
On August 8, 2000, an Eachon TIME WARP SPITFIRE 9 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lakeland, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 8, 2000
- Place
- Lakeland, FL
- Aircraft
- Eachon TIME WARP SPITFIRE 9 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 28.039°N, 81.899°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21796
NTSB summary
On August 8, 2000, about 0850 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Eachon Time Warp Spitfire 9, N355DE, registered to a private individual, impacted with the ground during takeoff from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The commercial-rated pilot was fatally injured. The flight was originating at the time. This was the first flight of this airplane after being built, and was to be a test flight. Witnesses saw the airplane depart from runway 9, climb at a steep nose high attitude to an altitude of about 150 to 200 feet above the ground, fall flat to the ground, impacting right side up, and flat. The NTSB investigator-in-charge reviewed videotape that was made by a relative of the pilot, and is being held as evidence by the Lakeland Police Department. The tape shows N355DE during a high-speed taxi test and then returning to the hangar area. Several people greeted the pilot when he returned to the hangar. In a conversation with the people at the hangar, the pilot said he was having difficulty in getting the tail up. He told the people present, "...it's a bugger back there," referring to the tail coming up. In addition he said, "...I should have more elevator authority." According to the FAA inspector's statement, "...a review of all witness statements, and a...video tape...indicate that the subject aircraft may have been overweight or tail heavy, or perhaps both. Inspection of the wreckage revealed no apparent
Probable cause
a loss of control which resulted in an inadvertent stall at too low an altitude to allow recovery. Factors in this accident were, the pilot/owner did not verify that the airplane was balanced before the flight, and he did not perform any weight or balance checks.
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
