Puhl Genesis accident near Petersburg, WV
On August 25, 2002, a Puhl Genesis (airplane) was involved in an accident near Petersburg, WV. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 25, 2002
- Place
- Petersburg, WV
- Aircraft
- Puhl Genesis · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.994°N, 79.144°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020830X01499
Official records · IAD02LA089
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On August 25, 2002, at 1600 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Genesis, N51XT, was destroyed while approaching Grant County Airport (W99), Petersburg, West Virginia. The certificated private pilot/owner sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD), Mansfield, Ohio, at 1251. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. A witness reported that she was outside her home, about one-quarter mile from the Grant County Airport, when she heard the airplane approach. She heard the engine operating, then it stopped, then operated again. When the airplane passed over her house, the engine was completely stopped. The airplane glided over her property and just cleared wires at her property line, when the nose "dropped" and the airplane descended vertically into a cornfield. An officer with the West Virginia Department of Resources reported that when he responded to the site, there was no odor of fuel or evidence of fuel spillage at the scene. During a telephone interview, the builder, who was also the previous owner of the airplane, stated that he had recently sold it to the pilot. He also stated that prior to the purchase, the pilot had never flown it, nor had he ever flown any other Genesis airplane. The builder also said that when the pilot purchased the airplane, they discussed numerous options for him to transport it from Wisconsin to the pilot's home in Virginia. They discussed flight instruction in the airplane for the pilot, and having an instructor
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed after a loss of engine power, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Factors included the pilot's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and the transmission wires in the pilot's glide path.
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Browse: West Virginia
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
