Replogle LANCAIR 360 accident near Chesapeake, VA
On April 3, 2011, a Replogle LANCAIR 360 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Chesapeake, VA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 3, 2011
- Place
- Chesapeake, VA
- Aircraft
- Replogle LANCAIR 360 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.659°N, 76.330°W
- NTSB ID
- 20110403X15457
Official records · ERA11FA222
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 3, 2011, about 1630 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Lancair 360, N164T, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain shortly after taking off from Chesapeake Regional Air port (CPK), Chesapeake, Virginia. The certificated commercial pilot/owner and the passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane was not operating on flight plan during the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 local personal flight. Family members reported that the pilot initially flew the airplane from Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport (JGG), Williamsburg, Virginia, where it was hangared, to CPK with his son onboard to meet family members for lunch. The pilot subsequently offered to take his sister on a short familiarization flight. According to one witness, he saw the airplane take off from runway 23. The landing gear retracted, and about ¼ mile beyond the departure end of the runway, the engine began "missing and sputtering." The witness saw the airplane then turn sharply to the right while losing altitude. After 90 to 110 degrees of turn, the nose of the airplane "dropped sharply, perhaps borderline inverted. Rotation stopped, and the nose began to recover from vertical" before the airplane impacted the ground. Another witness stated that at the departure end of the runway or a "little beyond," and about 150 to 200 feet above the ground, there was a loud backfire, followed by several smaller backfires. The airplane "started turning back towards the airport and stalled" before descending behind a hangar. A thi
Probable cause
The pilot did not maintain airspeed following a loss of engine power, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's selection of the wrong fuel tank at takeoff, which resulted in fuel starvation and the total loss of engine power.
More accidents in VA
- Boeing 757-200, Sep 11, 2001
- Beech B99, Sep 23, 1985
- Beech 65, Sep 10, 1995
- Beech 200, Oct 24, 2004
- Piper PA-31-310, Nov 14, 1982
Browse: 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.
