CHI05LA026 · Bruce Protech PT2B

The experimental amateur-built airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an inadvertent stall/spin following a loss of engine power. The pilot's wife reported that her husband had recently bought the aircraft and was conducting high-speed taxi work the week prior to the accident. She stated that on the day of the accident he conducted approximately 12 taxi runs on the runway. He reportedly called her on the radio inquiring if everything looked alright. She replied that everything seemed normal. She reported that her husband started what she thought was another taxi run, but this time he took off. She stated that the aircraft subsequently made a sharp bank and nose-dived. She noted that as far as she knew, this was her husband's first flight in the aircraft. A witness reported that the airplane was in a turn when the engine "stalled or quit." He stated the aircraft subsequently "headed in a nose dive" and impacted the ground. A second witness reported that the aircraft was in a turn when it sounded as if the engine "stalled." He noted this was followed by either a "sputter sound or a sound like he was trying to start it." He stated that this occurred twice and at the end of the second time, the "nose came down and the plane went into a spin and crashed." A post-accident inspection did not reveal any anomalies associated with a pre-impact failure. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. He had logged 310 hours total flight time. The temperature and dew point recorded by the Atlantic Municipal Airport (AIO) Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) at 1115, located about 13 miles west of Y43, were 18 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively. Data provided by Transport Canada indicated a possibility of moderate carburetor icing at cruise power and serious icing at descent power existed under those conditions.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset