CEN09FA111

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate flying speed during the night takeoff for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control

The pilot landed with 4 to 5 gallons of fuel on board following a 4.5-hour cross-country flight. After landing, the pilot made numerous attempts to locate fuel in order to continue the flight so that his passenger could be at work in the morning. The pilot left a note and money after having siphoned fuel from another airplane parked at the airport. After about 2 hours and 45 minutes on the ground, the airplane took off again. Impact marks indicate that the airplane stalled during the takeoff, impacting the terrain with the left wing prior to catching fire and coming to rest inverted. The accident occurred at night as the airplane was departing on the second leg of a cross-country flight. Calculations show that the airplane was slightly over the maximum gross takeoff weight and the center of gravity (CG) was slightly aft of the aft limit at the time of the accident. A pilot of another single-engine airplane, who landed a few minutes after the accident airplane landed, and who took off about 30 minutes later (which would have been about 2 hours before the accident) reported that he had to wipe a “slight frost buildup” off of his wings and tail with a towel prior to takeoff. The investigation could not determine whether the slight frost, slight overgross condition, or slight aft CG contributed, either individually or in combination, to the aerodynamic stall of the airplane. Additionally, several people reported that it was not uncommon to see deer on the airport property and one person reported seeing many deer on the runway earlier in the day prior to when the pilot landed; however the investigation could not determine whether deer were present on the runway at the time of the accident.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 1, 2009, at 2048 central standard time, a Lancair 360, N3603R, impacted the terrain following a loss of control while taking off on runway 12 (2,937 feet by 100 feet, dry asphalt) at the Joliet Regional Airport (JOT), Joliet, Illinois. The commercial pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post impact fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident with an intended destination of the Watertown Municipal Airport (RYV), Watertown, Wisconsin. The first segment of the cross country flight originated from the Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida, between 1000 and 1100 on the day of the accident. The pilot landed at JOT about 1800. A pilot flying a Diamond DA-40XL who was landing at JOT at the same time stated the accident pilot asked him over the radio if he could land first as he was low on fuel. After landing, the accident pilot discovered there were no fuel services available due to the New Year's holiday. The accident pilot left a message on the airport answering machine asking that his airplane be fueled so that he could depart by 0700 the following morning so his passenger could get to work. He requested they fuel the airplane with 10 gallons of fuel in each wing. The accident pilot told several people that he landed with 4 to 5 gallons of fuel on board and that he needed fuel to continue the flight to Wisconsin. He called a friend who researched nearby airports where he could possibly obtain fuel. The friend stated she called two near-by airports one of which was closed. The other, the DuPage County Airport (DPA), was open and did have fuel. DPA personnel recalled this telephone call which was followed by another call from a person identifying himself as the pilot of the airplane at Joliet. The pilot asked if they would sell him 5 gallons of fuel in a fuel container. DPA personnel told the pilot that they normally only sold fuel that was put directly into airplanes; however, if he was stuck, they would sell him the fuel. DPA personnel stated the pilot never came to the airport to purchase the fuel. The accident pilot spoke with the Diamond pilot who landed after him and two other people who were at JOT to meet the Diamond pilot regarding his need to obtain fuel. The Diamond pilot stated he gave the accident pilot an outdated Airport Facility Directory so that he would have some information regarding nearby airports. In addition, the Diamond pilot stated he had to clear frost off the wings of his airplane prior to taking off about 30 minutes after he landed. The two other people at the airport gave the pilot and his passenger a ride to a restaurant located next to the airport. An employee and the owner of the restaurant recalled the pilot and passenger. They stated the pilot used the employee's computer to look up information regarding nearby airports. The pilot told them they were flying from Orlando to Madison and that the flight from Orlando to JOT took 4.5 hours. They landed with 5 gallons of fuel on board and talked about going to DPA to get fuel. They also spoke about siphoning fuel from another airplane at the airport and leaving money for the fuel. The pilot also stated that the global positioning unit in the airplane was not working. There were no other known witnesses who saw the pilot and passenger after they left the restaurant. The accident sequence was recorded on a security camera at a gas station located near the approach end of the runway. Night conditions existed at the time of the accident and the lights from the airplane are visible in the recording. At 2041, the airplane can be seen taxiing from the ramp area to the approach end of the runway. At 2047, the airplane's strobe lights are activated while the airplane is on the runway. At 2048, a flash is seen off the left side of the runway followed seconds later by a larger flash. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot-in-command, age 50, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and sea and instrument airplane ratings. The certificate also contained private pilot privileges for multi-engine land airplanes. The pilot was issued a second-class medical certificate on November 20, 2008. The medical certificate did not contain any limitations. The pilot's family provided a copy of a computerized pilot log. The flights in this log were dated between April 3, 1991, and February 19, 2008. The log was not complete as there were entries which did not have any flight times associated with them. The log showed the pilot had a total time of 2,058.65 hours of flight time. On his application for medical certificate dated November 20, 2008, the pilot reported having 3,425 hours of flight time of which 85 hours were flown in the previous 6 months. The aircraft maintenance logbook showed the pilot was checked out to fly the accident airplane on June 12, 1996. The co-owner of N3603R provided an aircraft flight log for N3603R. This log contained entries dated between April 10, 1996, and December 18, 2002, indicating times that the pilot flew the airplane. Those entries totaled 221.4 hours of flight time. None of the records indicated the date of the pilot's last biennial flight review. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The accident airplane was an amateur-built Lancair 360, serial number 238-320-007. The Lancair 360 is a high performance, laminar flow low-wing, two place composite airplane. The airplane flight manual indicates the airplane consumes 10.5 gallons per hour of fuel at a 75 percent power setting at sea level. The total fuel capacity is 57 gallons. The airplane was built by a flying club and the first flight was logged on September 27, 1992. The pilot became a member of the flying club after the airplane was built. The pilot and a co-owner purchased the airplane from the flying club in November 2008. The airplane was powered by a 180-horsepower, Lycoming O-360-A1A engine, serial number L-663-36. The last condition inspection on both the airframe and engine was performed on February 13, 2008, at a total aircraft time of 1,429.3 hours. The aircraft total time at the time of the accident was 1,445.5 hours. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The weather conditions reported at JOT at 2045, were: Wind from 210 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; broken clouds at 9,000 feet; temperature minus 1 degree Celsius; dew point minus 4 degrees Celsius; altimeter 29.80 inches of mercury. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The main wreckage was located in the grass on the north side of the taxiway which runs parallel to the north side of runway 12. The position of the wreckage was approximately 1,800 feet from the departure end of the runway. The magnetic heading of the debris path from initial impact to the main wreckage was 84 degrees. The initial impact ground scar was located approximately 96 feet north of the runway in an area of grass between the runway and parallel taxiway. This impact mark was approximately 27 feet long and it contained pieces of red glass consistent with the red position light which would have been located on the left wing of the airplane. The next impact area contained two slashes in the terrain, one of which contained a red paint transfer. These marks were followed by pieces of canopy and debris which led up to the south edge of the taxiway. A scattering of wreckage was present across the taxiway. Scorched terrain was visible beginning on the northern half of the taxiway up to and approximately 70 feet beyond the location of the main wreckage. The main wreckage was located approximately 140 feet from the north edge of the taxiway. The propeller separated from the crankshaft and was located bet