Amateur-built RV-7A N462WP accident near Paducah, Kentucky

Probable cause

A partial loss of engine power during the initial climb for undetermined reasons.

NTSB analysis

The experimental amateur-built airplane was powered by a fuel-injected, automotive-conversion, rotary engine. Following an uneventful preflight inspection and run-up check of the engine, the pilot departed on the accident flight. During the initial climb, about 200 to 300 feet above the ground, the engine began to "stumble" and lost partial power. The pilot responded by selecting the alternate engine control computer and increasing the richness of the mixture, both to no avail. He subsequently performed a forced landing to a nearby road and the airplane struck a mailbox and a ditch during the landing roll. A postaccident test run of the engine was successful, and during 8 months of subsequent troubleshooting by the pilot during the process of rebuilding the airplane, the engine anomaly encountered on the accident flight could not be duplicated or definitively determined.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA11LA444 for the full record.