The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been unable to determine the cause of a fatal Lancair Legacy crash at Shepparton in 2013.
Two people were killed when Legacy VH-ICZ crashed on take-off from Shepparton, Vic, on 25 October 2013. Witnesses described the aircraft pitching nose-up after getting airborne, then rolling to the right before crashing.
VH-ICZ was an amateur-built (AB-E) that started as a project in the USA before being exported to South Africa, where it was involved in an accident. Subsequently it was repaired then sold into Australia.
The report - released today - states that destruction to the composite aircraft was too extensive to enable the ATSB to establish a definite cause, except to say that the aircraft most likely stalled.
"For reasons that could not be determined from the evidence available, shortly after take-off, the aircraft entered a steep climb, likely stalled and began a descending right turn that continued until the aircraft collided with terrain," the report concludes.
"The ATSB’s investigation was limited by the degree of damage to the aircraft and the presence of burnt carbon fibre. However, there was no evidence of any pre-existing mechanical fault with the aircraft and engine that could have contributed to the accident. A number of other possible contributing factors were considered and could not be completely discounted; those included sudden pilot incapacitation, aircraft handling, or the aircraft’s weight and balance being outside the design limits."
During the investigation, the ATSB uncovered several anomalies with the flight, including:
- The Legacy gives little warning of a stall, and the accident aircraft was not fitted with a stall warning device (not required).
- The application for the special certificate of airworthiness (SCOA) had several inconsistencies that were not identified during the issuing process.
- The zero fuel weight of the aircraft during the accident flight exceeded the maximum zero fuel weight by 63 kg.
- The pilot, who assembled the aircraft, was not qualified to do so and was not supervised by a qualified person.
- The pilot did not have a current medical.
- The SCOA required to legally fly the aircraft, had expired 23 days before the accident.
- Provisions in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook for recording the aircraft’s stall speed characteristics had not been completed, suggesting that the stall characteristics of the aircraft had not been properly evaluated after its registration in Australia.
Under the terms of the SCOA, the aircraft was not authorised to carry passenger unless that passenger was recording flight data. The ATSB found no evidence the passenger in the plane was recording data.
The full report is available on the ATSB website.