N6143E

On April 30, 1999, at 1000 hours Pacific daylight time, an experimental Massey Super Stallion, N6143E, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a fence after overrunning the runway at Shafter-Minter Field, Shafter, California. The airplane was being operated as a test flight by its co-owner/builder under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. This was the third flight on the airplane since its completion, and its purpose was to continue flight-testing and evaluation. The flight departed Shafter-Minter Field 5 minutes prior to the mishap. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.

The builder stated the airplane was completed April 27, 1999. Its first flight was conducted on April 29, 1999, by a contract test pilot and lasted 20 minutes. The airplane was next flown on the morning of April 30 by the accident pilot, who was hired to complete 25 hours of flight time. The pilot stated his flight time in this make and model was 3 hours. A 45-minute flight was completed and the airplane was inspected prior to a second launch. A ground crewman, who observed the airplane during this second takeoff, thought a landing gear door did not close properly and requested the pilot do a fly-by for visual inspection. The pilot reported he would do a low pass. Although instructed several times that a low pass was not necessary, the pilot stated his intention to do a low pass.

In his written statement, the pilot said he was 400 feet above the ground at 140 knots when he turned final to runway 34, and then the engine quit prior to the approach end. He attempted to restart the engine by turning the electric fuel pump on and moving the throttle and mixture controls in and out. He stated he was unable to restart the engine. He said in a few seconds he lost 350 feet of altitude and was almost at the end of runway 34. Rather than attempt a turn at low altitude, he elected to lower the landing gear and land on what remained of runway 34. He proceeded off the runway, through a dirt and grass area, until stopped by a chain link fence.

According to the Airport/Facility Directory, Southwest U.S., the Shafter airport has two hard surfaced runways. Runway 34 is 2,980 feet long by 100 feet wide, and runway 30 is 4,520 feet long by 100 feet wide. The approach ends of the two runways are in close proximity to one another.

The builder observed the airplane from the ramp in front of his shop, which was located approximately 1/3 of the length of the runway from the approach end of runway 34. He estimated the airplane's altitude was 25 feet as it went by his shop. The engine sounded like it was in low pitch at cruise power as it came by and he did not hear the engine sound change during the accident sequence. He saw the gear coming down and the airplane seemed like it was going too fast to land. He noted the airplane touched down in the last 500 feet of runway 34, and the fence was approximately 500 yards past the end of the runway. One of the builder's employees heard the engine stutter and pop just as the landing gear was lowered. An airplane mechanic working at the north end of the airport stated he began observing the airplane at an estimated altitude of 300 feet. The engine sound caught his attention. He heard what he described as a normal high power setting and thought the pilot was preparing to do a high-speed pass over the runway. After the airplane traveled over much of the runway he heard the engine tone change. A witness in an office, across a street that runs parallel to the runway on the east side of the airport, was vacuuming his floors. He reported the loud but normal engine sound caught his attention; he looked up expecting to see a high speed pass. Buildings on the airport blocked his view of parts of the runway. When he saw the airplane through a gap in the buildings, it appeared to be going fast and was low over the runway. The engine was now quiet and the landing gear was down.

The engine was a new Teledyne Continental Motors TSIO-550-E2B. The builder stated he ran the engine several times for a cumulative time of approximately 1 hour on the ground prior to the first flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accident coordinator inspected the airplane the afternoon of the accident and verified that fuel was found from the tanks to the mechanical fuel pump. The fuel vent line was open and the fuel pump was on. The bottom six spark plugs sparked with crankshaft rotation and the spark plugs were bright and not sooty. He also noted that there was a small amount of material on the fuel strainer screen. The pilot told the FAA inspector that on the previous flight he switched tanks.

On May 12, 1999, the airplane was fueled and a used propeller was installed. The engine was started and run at idle for 1 minute. The engine was then advanced to 1,600 revolutions per minute (rpm) and the propeller was cycled. Each magneto was checked and a drop of 20 rpm was observed for each magneto. Idle rpm was stable and the oil pressure remained in the green arc.

Section 6-14 of the engine manufacturer's handbook instructs the operator to follow the airplane flight manual or pilot operating handbook. The builder supplied an operating manual for the airplane. The manual listed the basic dimensions, performance specifications, operating checklists, and operating limitations. Also included were charts for mixture settings, altitude performance of the engine, and fuel flow versus horsepower for the engine. There was no description of the airplane's systems, and no emergency procedure section. The only direction on the use of the auxiliary fuel pump was in the engine starting checklist regarding priming a cold engine.