N873X

On May 25, 2024, about 1720 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Steen Skybolt, N873X was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Maria, California. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that prior to the flight, the airplane was topped off with fuel for the 1.5 hour flight. As he arrived at his destination airport, he executed a go-around. While turning left base to runway 30, the engine sputtered two times and lost power. The pilot stated that he was unsuccessful at restarting the engine and initiated a forced landing to an open area. As the airplane was about 300 ft above ground level (agl), he realized that the terrain was steeper than he originally thought. The pilot stated that he pushed the nose down to gain airspeed to fly over a hill that was in front of his position. As the airplane passed over the hill, the pilot observed a set of high-tension power lines. He attempted to fly over the power lines, however, the tailwheel “caught the wires” and the airplane subsequently impacted trees and nosed over before it came to rest inverted on a road.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the upper wing was substantially damaged. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.