Z-HI-MAX 1400

Full Narrative

On October 16, 2021, at 0830 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Z-HI-MAX 1400 airplane, N668CL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Benton, Pennsylvania. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Family members reported that the accident flight was the pilot’s first flight in the airplane. He planned to perform a takeoff, teardrop turn and return to the reciprocal runway. The pilot performed a preflight inspection, started the airplane, and taxied to the runway where he performed an engine run-up and remained for “a while,” according to the pilot’s brother who witnessed the takeoff and subsequent accident sequence. The takeoff and initial climb appeared normal. When the airplane reached about 100 ft agl, it began a slow bank to the right, followed by a bank to the left, which “just kept getting steeper.” The airplane then descended to the ground.
One witness reported hearing the engine rpm increase at the time of the impact. Another witness reported that although he heard two “momentary misses” from the engine during takeoff, “the engine was running normally and developing power throughout.”
The pilot had limited recollection of accident. He stated that at some time during the flight, the engine “develop(ed) a roughness that occurred twice before it lost power.” He stated that a carburetor heat check is normally performed during engine run-up; however, he did not have any recollection of that portion of the accident flight.
The pilot’s brother reported that during previous flights, the airplane was “quick” to roll into turns, and “slow” to roll out of them. He further stated that during stalls, the airplane did not “break” but rather would “mush into a buffet.”
Photographs of the accident site provided by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector showed the wreckage was confined to a small area, about the diameter of the airplane’s wingspan, with no ground scars leading to the main wreckage. A subsequent examination of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
The 0854 weather conditions reported at Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT), Williamsport, Pennsylvania, located about 24 miles west of the accident site at an elevation of 528 ft msl, included a temperature of 21°C (70° F) and a dew point of 17°C (63° F). Review of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed the potential for serious icing at glide and cruise power.