Matthews Christen Eagle II accident near Iowa City, IA
On March 27, 2005, a Matthews Christen Eagle II (airplane) was involved in an accident near Iowa City, IA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 27, 2005
- Place
- Iowa City, IA
- Aircraft
- Matthews Christen Eagle II · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.639°N, 91.546°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050329X00378
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 27, 2005, about 1745 central standard time, an experimental amateur-built Matthews Christen Eagle II, N85SM, owned by the rear seated private pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain following an in-flight loss of control while maneuvering near Iowa City, Iowa. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The private pilot and the front seated commercial pilot certificated occupant were fatally injured. The flight originated from the Iowa City Municipal Airport (IOW), near Iowa City, Iowa, about 1730. A police interview of witnesses stated: I looked west [and] heard this plane [and] saw this plane doing flips coming down and I could hear the motor real plain till it seemed like the plane was close to the ground [and] the motor died and then I couldn't see the plane anymore. A police interview of other witnesses stated: As it passed overhead it did a barrel roll, left wing down first ... 1 1/2 rolls ending up upside down for several seconds. While the plane was upside down we noticed the plane rotating around its center point. It lost altitude and stayed stalled. As it was falling, it seemed like the nose pointed down and then the plane might have began to level off as it disappeared behind the hill. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The rear-seat pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings. He was issued a third-class medical certificate without limitations on J
Probable cause
The pilot not maintaining airplane control and airspeed, and the stall/spin encountered during aerobatic maneuvering. A factor in the accident was the pilot exceeding the published airplane's aft center of gravity limit and a factor in the pilot rated occupant's fatal injury was approved personal parachutes not being worn during aerobatics as required by regulation.
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Browse: Iowa
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
