N88856

On June 24, 1995, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Pincince, Corbin Baby Ace, an experimental, homebuilt airplane, N88856, nosed over after a forced landing at the Palmer Airport, Palmer, Massachusetts. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local, personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

During a routine surveillance on July 26, 1995, the FAA observed the wreckage in a hanger. The FAA Inspector learned that the accident had not been reported. The FAA contacted the pilot/owner, who provided the information about the accident.

The airplane had taken off, from runway 22, reached an altitude of approximately 15 feet above the runway, and according to the pilot, "the engine stopped abruptly and completely."

The pilot stated on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2:

Automatic reaction resulted in decreasing the angle of attack. None-the-less, the Baby Ace dropped-in rather hard with the left main on soft ground and the right main on runway pavement, resulting in a ground loop to the left and then down an embankment...at that point the plane nosed over...

According to the pilot, examination of the carburetor revealed that there was "...foreign matter in [the] bowl; [and the] needle valve-needle tip [was] worn"

At the time of the accident the pilot reported that the winds were from the southwest, at 5 knots. The visibility was 10 miles.

The pilot indicated on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 that he had a total of 933.7 flight hours, with .5 hours in this make and model airplane.

The time on the airplane since the annual inspection was .5 of an hour.