N93PC

On December 21, 2003, at 1524 eastern standard time, a Baker KR-2 experimental airplane, N93PC, registered to and operated by a private pilot, collided with trees and burst into flames at St. Marys Airport in St. Marys, Georgia. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and passenger received minor injuries. The flight departed St. Marys Georgia on December 21, 2003 at 1454.

The pilot had flown in the local area approximately 30 minutes then returned to the airport and performed a touch and go so that he could fly around in the pattern one more time before landing. On the second landing, the approach was normal but the aircraft bounced approximately one foot. After the bounce the pilot decided that it would be best to go around and attempt another landing. At approximately 80 knots, the airplane started to climb. At the same time, the pilot felt a sudden, strong vibration. The pilot thought he did not have enough runway left to make a safe landing so he continued the takeoff. The pilot stated that he checked the instruments and saw that the engine was running at 3100 RPM. which was normal during takeoff, but the airspeed was decreasing and the vibration was increasing. He then increased the pitch of the airplane just before a row of trees at the end of the runway and made it over the top of the trees. The pilot pitched the nose of the airplane back down and turned slightly to the left to avoid some taller trees and head towards a clearing in the woods by a river. The airplane's landing gear struck the tops of trees 80 feet high. The airplane came to rest inverted and the pilot and passenger were hanging upside down from their seatbelts about three feet from the ground in the bushes. The airplane caught on fire. Both the pilot and passenger were able to get out of their seatbelts and crawl out of the plane.

The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane had a total time of 162 hours. The last annual was performed on September 28, 2003 and the airplane had 38.6 hours on it since that inspection.