Amateur-built VELOCITY N45YV accident near Katy, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of control following an in-flight failure of the propeller.

NTSB analysis

The airplane's experimental two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller had recently been replaced with an experimental three-bladed constant-speed propeller. The pilot was flight testing the new propeller at the time of the accident. During the third flight of the day, one of the propeller's blades separated from the propeller hub during flight. The pilot lost control of the airplane and entered an uncontrolled descent. The airplane impacted in a flat, lightly wooded area. Flight control continuity was confirmed and no preimpact anomalies were discovered with the airplane's engine or other airplane systems. An examination of the propeller conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory discovered several areas of disbonding with signatures of low adhesion between the propeller shank, adhesive, and propeller ferrule.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09LA288 for the full record.