Adams Donald L DA1 accident near Sebring, FL
On March 2, 2015, an Adams Donald L DA1 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sebring, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 2, 2015
- Place
- Sebring, FL
- Aircraft
- Adams Donald L DA1 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 27.437°N, 81.341°W
- NTSB ID
- 20150302X24638
Official records · ERA15FA139
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 2, 2015, about 1150 eastern standard time, an experimental amateur-built Adams DA1, N797A, owned and operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during an off-airport landing and subsequent postcrash fire, shortly after takeoff from the Sebring Regional Airport (SEF), Sebring, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight that was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane was built by the pilot and based at SEF. According to a friend of the pilot, about 2 years prior to the accident, the pilot was flying the airplane when it experienced a loss of engine power just after takeoff, due to a clogged fuel filter. The pilot landed back on the runway and the airplane sustained a propeller strike. The accident flight was the airplane's first flight since that incident. Recent maintenance included replacing the fuel filter and converting the airplane from a tailwheel to tricycle landing gear configuration. Witnesses near the accident site reported hearing a "spitting and sputtering" engine as they observed the airplane descending from a low altitude. The pilot was able to land the airplane on grass about 1 mile south of SEF; however, after landing a postcrash fire erupted and destroyed the cockpit before the pilot could exit the airplane. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 76, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. The pilot's logbo
Probable cause
A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
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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.
