At about 08:00 EDT, a homebuilt Volksplane crashed during takeoff from a private airstrip near Westmore, killing the pilot. The pilot had recently completed building the airplane and conducted a ground test prior to making a test flight. He decided to change the original propeller to one with a smaller diameter in order to prevent ground strike damage. The accident flight was to be the first flight in the airplane. A witness said the airplane lifted off after a ground roll of about 1,000 feet but did not climb enough to make it over 50-foot trees at the far end of the airstrip.
Sept. 6, Westmore, Vt. / Volksplane VP-II
At about 08:00 EDT, a homebuilt Volksplane crashed during takeoff from a private airstrip near Westmore, killing the pilot. The pilot had recently completed building the airplane and conducted a ground test prior to making a test flight. He decided to change the original propeller to one with a smaller diameter in order to prevent ground strike damage. The accident flight was to be the first flight in the airplane. A witness said the airplane lifted off after a ground roll of about 1,000 feet but did not climb enough to make it over 50-foot trees at the far end of the airstrip....
Key Takeaways:
- A pilot was killed when his newly built Volksplane crashed during its initial test flight from a private airstrip near Westmore.
- The aircraft had a 1,000-foot ground roll but failed to climb sufficiently to clear 50-foot trees at the end of the airstrip.
- Prior to the flight, the pilot had changed the original propeller to one with a smaller diameter to prevent ground strike damage.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
