N707PHHammond Paul A RANS S-12 · 1995

On April 17, 2021, about 1048 Pacific daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Rans S-12 light sport airplane, N707PH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Colville, Washington. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 test flight.

Multiple witnesses observed the takeoff. One described the airplane’s climbout as “not impressive,” and another stated that, “it was slightly climbing but the engine sounded OK.”

Multiple witnesses observed the airplane in flight. Two witnesses saw the airplane overfly their property, which was located about 1/8 mile from the accident site and reported that they could tell something “wasn’t right” because the engine sounded like it was “sputtering” and the airplane was losing altitude quickly. Neither saw the airplane impact the ground.

Two other witnesses, located in a car on a highway, saw the airplane at a low altitude and getting lower. Neither heard the airplane’s engine, but both watched the airplane approach a set of power distribution lines, turn hard to its right, then descend straight down to a field. One witness stated that it looked like the pilot was flying straight to the power distribution lines then turned away from them, and if he did not turn, the airplane would have hit them.

Another witness took multiple photos of the airplane as it approached the set of power distribution lines. The last photo revealed the airplane in a steep bank angle (see figure 1).

Figure 1. The accident airplane in a steep bank moments before the accident. (Source: Witness)

Note: The power distribution lines are in the foreground.

The manager of the airport where the airplane was stored stated that he knew both occupants. He understood that the passenger was selling the airplane to the pilot. The airplane had been in the passenger’s hangar, in pieces, for about 5 years and the pilot and passenger spent the winter putting it back together.

An acquaintance who spoke to the passenger and the pilot on the day of the accident reported that the two informed him that they had corrected some maintenance problems and were going to take the airplane on a test flight. The acquaintance was aware of several small problems that the two were correcting, one of which was a carburetor that was “over-producing fuel, and the fuel was running out of the back [of the airplane].”

The passenger was not a certificated pilot, and neither the pilot nor the passenger were certificated mechanics or light sport repairmen.

The wife of the passenger stated that he bought it from a neighbor after it had been involved in an accident. He did not fly it. He recently sold the airplane to his friend, who was the accident pilot and the two worked on the airplane to get it ready to fly.

The wife of the passenger stated that he bought it from a neighbor after it had been involved in an accident. He did not fly it. He recently sold the airplane to his friend, who was the accident pilot and the two worked on the airplane to get it ready to fly.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the wreckage at the accident site. The airplane impacted terrain in an approximate 45° nose-down attitude and came to rest on an open, sloping field, adjacent to a large set of power distribution lines. The cabin area and floor area were heavily damaged, but the tail section was intact. Flight control continuity was established for all flight controls. Fuel and electrical systems appeared to be correctly installed. Fuel was observed draining from the airplane at the accident site. The engine oil and coolant had sufficient levels. When the FAA inspector visited the hangar where maintenance on the airplane was performed, he found two disassembled carburetors on a shelf that were the same as the carburetors on the airplane.

Examination of the engine by a manufacturer’s representative revealed that one carburetor had a piece of blue tape attached to it with the word “leaks” written on it. The float brackets for both carburetors were out of adjustment, as shown in figure 2. According to the BRP-Rotax Heavy Maintenance Manual, the carburetor float brackets are to be parallel to the float chamber, as shown in figure 3. According to the manufacturer, the way the brackets were adjusted on the carburetors limited the amount of fuel in the carburetor bowl, and depending on the power demands, the engine may run perfectly fine while at idle, start to lean out, resulting in less power while at mid-range, or the engine may stumble and quit at full throttle. No other anomalies were noted with the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

The last entry in the airplane’s maintenance logbook, dated March 20, 2021, stated, in part, “Condition inspection, airframe, engine, prop. Ops check systems OK. This aircraft was inspected and found to be in airworthy condition and approved for return to service.” The mechanic who completed the entry stated that he knew the two occupants, and they had approached him to ask if he could oversee their work on the airplane. The mechanic stated that he acted as an advisor and gave them general maintenance advice. He knew that neither were certificated repairmen but knew that the passenger was a good mechanic and was not worried about his mechanical skills. He stated that he was aware of a carburetor issue but did not know who worked on the carburetors. He thought that the two had sent the carburetors out for repair. When the carburetors were reinstalled, the mechanic noticed that the vacuum lines were incorrect. After the vacuum lines were corrected, the engine ran normally from idle to full power. After the reinstallation, he had seen the pilot conducting ground runs in the airplane and thought that the engine sounded fine.

Figure 2. Photo showing one of two carburetors. Both exhibited incorrectly adjusted float brackets.

Note: The green parallel lines indicate the correct position for the float bracket. The red line indicates the actual position of the float bracket.

Figure 3. Excerpt from the BRP-Rotax Heavy Maintenance Manual explaining the float bracket adjustment procedure