At 08:18 PDT, a homebuilt Christavia Mark I kitplane pitched down and crashed while on short final to runway 34 at McNary Field. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot reported that he took off from runway 13 for the initial test flight following installation of a new engine. The airplane was nose-heavy during climb out and the pilot declared an emergency and turned back toward the field. During the approach the nose of the aircraft abruptly pitched down when the pilot reduced power for landing. He was unable to recover control. The center of gravity at the time of the accident was found to lie one-half inch forward of the forward-most cg limit for the airplane. The pilot/builder reported that he had made two changes within the aircraft after having worked up the basic aircraft cg calculations. He had replaced the aircraft battery, which was located forward of the cockpit, with a larger unit weighing 7 pounds more than the former battery. He had also replaced the engine exhaust assembly with a newer, stainless steel system, which weighed 2 to 3 pounds more than the former one.
May 1, Salem, Ore. / Christavia Mark I
At 08:18 PDT, a homebuilt Christavia Mark I kitplane pitched down and crashed while on short final to runway 34 at McNary Field. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot reported that he took off from runway 13 for the initial test flight following installation of a new engine. The airplane was nose-heavy during climb out and the pilot declared an emergency and turned back toward the field. During the approach the nose of the aircraft abruptly pitched down when the pilot reduced power for landing. He was unable to recover control. The center of gravity at the time of the accident was found to lie one-half inch forward of the forward-most cg limit for the airplane. The pilot/builder reported that h...
Key Takeaways:
- A homebuilt Christavia Mark I kitplane crashed during its initial test flight due to an abrupt nose-down pitch on final approach, though the pilot was uninjured.
- The accident was attributed to the aircraft being critically nose-heavy, with its center of gravity found to be half an inch forward of the acceptable limit.
- This dangerous nose-heavy condition resulted from uncalculated weight increases, specifically a heavier forward battery and exhaust system, installed after the initial center of gravity calculations.
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