N516XL – LIBERTY AEROSPACE INCORPORATED XL-2 – 2014-06-10 NTSB Accident Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 9, 2014, about 2036 eastern daylight time, a Liberty Aerospace, Incorporated XL-2, N516XL, crashed in a residential area approximately 1.5 nautical miles north-northwest of Merritt Island Airport (COI), Merritt Island, Florida. Both occupants were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Spatial, Inc., and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that originated from COI.

The purpose of the flight was a checkout of an individual by the airplane owner seated in the right seat. The owner's girlfriend provided a timeline indicating the last text message she received from him was at 1808, indicating he was on his way to the checkride. About 2 minutes later, or at 1810, the left seat occupant left a voice mail message indicating that he was at the end of his driveway waiting for the right seat occupant to drive past. At 1930, a friend reported seeing the airplane on a taxiway at COI with the doors open and no-one nearby. The girlfriend further reported that she had a commitment with her boyfriend at 2000 hours that day.

One witness reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector-in-charge seeing the airplane flying about 200 feet above ground level, then bank to the east. He observed the nose drop and the airplane went straight down. He reported the engine popped then became quiet and popped again. The witnesses estimated he was approximately ½ mile from the accident site. The same witness provided a sworn taped interview to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office Agent indicating hearing the engine rev up while descending followed by hearing the sound of the crash.

Another witness reported to the FAA-IIC observing the airplane flying about 300-400 feet above the ground with the aircraft spinning nose down. He then lost sight of the airplane.

Still another witness reported to the FAA-IIC hearing a swooshing sound and realized it was an aircraft. He noted that the engine was not running and the airplane was a couple hundred feet in the air as he saw it go straight down like from 12 to 6 o'clock. He called 911 to report the accident. The same witness also provided a sworn taped interview to the agent of Brevard County Sheriff's Office indicating that he did not hear the engine running during flight.

The homeowner reported to NTSB that on the date and time of the accident, he was inside his house in his kitchen. He reported it was still light out, and he heard a loud sound that shook his house. He reported prior to the impact he did not hear an engine sound. It took him about 1 minute to find his phone, and he called 911 at 2036. He went outside and spotted the wreckage. While near the wreckage there was no sound from it and no "obvious smell of fuel." He estimated that law enforcement was on-scene within 2 minutes and fire rescue responded shortly thereafter. He was the only person present in his home at the time.

FAA personnel reported there was no record of any ATC contact, no flight plan, and no contact with LM Automated Flight Service Station.

Radar data from Orlando Approach Control, that utilizes Space Coast Regional Radar Sensor was examined by NTSB for uncorrelated and primary radar returns using the accident site location (latitude and longitude) and accident time as a starting point and working backwards. That review revealed at 2010:14, an uncorrelated radar target at 200 feet mean sea level (msl) was located about 0.4 nautical mile and 95 degrees from the departure end of runway 11 at COI. The target remained in left traffic pattern for COI, then departed flying north of the airport where changes in direction occurred. While remaining north of the airport between 2035:05 and 2035:19, the flight proceeded in a northwesterly direction while flying between 1,400 and 1,300 feet msl. At 2035:24, a primary radar return with no altitude available was located nearly due west and about 270 feet of the previous radar target. The next uncorrelated radar target at 2035:29, at 500 feet msl was located about 417 feet and 348 degrees from the primary radar return. Excluding the primary radar return, between 2035:19 and 2035:29, the airplane descended 800 feet, resulting in a calculated average rate of descent of about 4,800 feet per minute. The accident site was located about 130 feet and 142 degrees from the last uncorrelated radar return. Plots of the uncorrelated radar targets and raw radar data utilized for the plots are contained in the NTSB public docket. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe left seat occupant, age 65, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single and multi-engine land ratings issued August 29, 2013, and held a third class medical certificate with a limitation, "must have available glasses for near vision" issued on July 2, 2012. On the application for his last medical certificate he listed a total time of 30 hours. There were no records of enforcement action. His wife reported he was in "very good health" and did not take any medication, and just had a physical 6 months earlier.

The right seat occupant, age 47, held an airline transport pilot certificate with multi-engine land rating issued April 3, 2014. He also held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single and multi-engine land, instrument airplane ratings, issued January 30, 2013. He held a first class medical certificate with limitation to wear corrective lenses issued on December 2, 2013. On the application for his last medical certificate he listed a total time of 2,140 hours. There were no records of enforcement. His son indicated he was in excellent health, and his girlfriend indicated he was not taking any prescription medication, but would take Ibuprofen as needed for a sore back.

A review of the right seat occupant's pilot logbook that was found in a bag in the wreckage revealed it contained entries between June 20, 2010, and April 6, 2014. He logged time in the following aircraft: Cessna 150, Cessna 172, Piper PA-28R, Piper PA-23-250, Fairchild SA-227, Casa 212, and the accident airplane. Between these dates he logged a total time of approximately 863 hours, of which approximately 41 were as pilot-in-command in the accident airplane. His first logged flight in the accident airplane occurred on January 11, 2013, and his last logged flight in the accident airplane occurred on April 6, 2014.

Correlation of the right seat occupant's flight time in the accident airplane after his last logged flight was performed using the "Aircraft Flight Log." Between his last logged flight and June 2, 2014, he accrued 3.2 hours in the accident airplane, resulting in a total of 43.7 hours make and model. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was manufactured in 2006 by Liberty Aerospace, Inc., as model XL-2, and was designated serial number 0011. It was powered by a 125 horsepower Continental Motors, Inc., IOF-240-B engine controlled by Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system which includes two Electronic Control Units (ECUs), Health Status Annunciator (HSA), FADEC Sensor Set, and low voltage wiring harness. The airplane was also equipped with a Sensenich W69EK7-63G fixed pitch wood/fiberglass propeller.

Following manufacturing, on June 26, 2007, Service Instruction Letter (SIL) 06-006 was complied with which installed an Aerosance engine data interface (EDI) model EDI-200. On July 16, 2007, the EDI-200 was removed and a new EDI was installed.

A review of the 'Aircraft" logbook that contained entries from January 19, 2006, to the last entry dated September 15, 2013, revealed no entry related to removal or repair of the auxiliary fuel pump. The airplane was last inspected in accordance with an annual inspection on September 15, 2013; the airplane total time at that time was recorded to be 615.6 hours. There were no further entries in the airframe or engine logbooks after the annual inspection was signed off as being completed. Further review of the aircraft maintenance records revealed an entry dated May 23, 2008, indicating the aircraft total time was 570.8 hours, while an entry dated January 7, 2013, indicates the total time was 568.9 hours, consistent with record keeping errors and the airplane not being operated for over 4 years 7 months. According to the FAA Registration Application dated January 11, 2013, the right seat occupant listed himself as the president under the name, "Spatial, Inc." The next entry in the airframe maintenance after the right seat occupant purchased the airplane was dated August 2, 2013, which indicates the airplane total time was 613.4 hours. Excerpts of the Airframe and Engine logbooks are contained in the NTSB public docket.

A spiral bound "Aircraft Flight Log" book which documents flights, flight date, time out, time in, flight duration, fuel information, and discrepancies was found in the wreckage. The book documented flights between February 2, 2013, and June 2, 2014. Further review of it revealed that after the annual inspection was signed off, an entry dated December 19, 2013, indicates, "Fadec caution [intermittent] rough engine." Another entry the same day indicates, "intermittent 20 [degrees] flap", likely referring to the flap position indicator light. An entry dated December 20-21, 2013, indicates, "Fadec panel flickered for about 5 [minutes]", while an entry on December 23, 2013, indicates, "20 degrees flap [indicator] intermittent." An entry dated January 17, 2014, indicates, "Fadec caution flash." There were no entries related to the FADEC between January 19, 2014, and the last entry dated June 2, 2014. Further review of the entry for June 2, 2014, indicates no discrepancies, 14 gallons of fuel were added, and the ending time was 667.0 hours. Excerpts from the "Aircraft Flight Log" are contained in the NTSB public docket.

Service Instruction L...