Amateur-built GENESIS N105BJ accident near Fairmont, Minnesota

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during a forced landing, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the loss of power due to the failure of the engine’s drive belt.

NTSB analysis

The pilot and passenger were conducting a local personal flight in the experimental amateur-built airplane. While on the base leg of the traffic pattern, the engine’s drive belt failed and was ejected from the airplane. During the ensuing forced landing, the pilot allowed the airspeed to decay, and the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall and descended into trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The airplane’s maintenance records revealed that the drive belt was last replaced about 20 years ago. The pilot had completed a maintenance inspection about 2 months before the accident and a preflight inspection before the flight; he did not notice anything wrong with the drive belt during the inspections. There were no other mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN21LA401 for the full record.