Amateur-built RV-4 N107SS accident near Picayune, Mississippi

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the overweight and aft-center-of-gravity condition of the airplane at takeoff.

NTSB analysis

According to a witness, the pilot was preparing the accident airplane for a test flight after replacing a ground wire in the avionics. The pilot and passenger boarded the airplane, the engine started, and they made a normal departure to the north. Another witness observed the airplane shortly after it departed. He noticed that the airplane was low and that it appeared that it was about to perform trick-type maneuvers. The airplane rolled to the left and pitched down, impacting the ground shortly thereafter. A postaccident examination of the wreckage and accident site revealed that impact damage signatures on the nose, wings, and fuselage were consistent with a stall and spin, fragmentation of the propeller consistent with engine operation at impact. Weight and balance calculations were performed using weight and balance documents recovered at the site and the actual weights of the occupants. Calculations revealed the airplane was loaded about 250 pounds in excess of the experimental amateur-built kit manufacturer's recommended maximum gross weight, and that that the center of gravity was located more than .25 inches aft of the envelope for the maximum gross weight.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA10LA120 for the full record.