lml@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

To be in the realm of insurable you would want less than 1 fatal across all Lancairs per year. ...or 1 fatal per 100,000 hours. That gives new meaning to "probably", in the sense of "that probably won't be a problem"...

On Feb 21, 2014, at 7:59 AM, Valin & Allyson Thorn wrote:

We hope to have the first flight of our Legacy later this year and was surprised so many underwriters were no longer insuring the Legacy. This motivated me to relook at the accident record and update the summary table I made and sent to the LML when looking at this five years ago. See the updated table below. The accident record is disappointing and this probably hasn’t even captured all the accidents worldwide. If anyone knows of any not shown here please let me know.

I found a total of 18 fatal accidents with 27 fatalities since the first (non-fatal) accident in September 2003. So there is an average of almost 2 fatal accidents per year since then. I estimate approximately 150 flying Lancair Legacy airplanes (does anyone have a confirmed number?). With that as a basis, and just counting the years since the first accident, there’s an annual probability of any particular Legacy having a fatal accident of about 1 in 80.

Much can be learned from looking at general aviation accident records and statistics to make us safer/better pilots – but, looking at the specific record of the airplane you’re flying and/or building is most sobering…

Here are some of my take-a-ways from the Legacy’s accident history…

1. Get transition and regular refresher training from experienced Legacy flight instructors – maintain proficiency.

2. Install and use an angle of attack sensor for all flight phases.

3. Install a canopy down and latched indicator – simple, two micro-switches and a light. If the canopy does open in flight, ignore the junk blowing around the cockpit, fly the airplane, get some good altitude, and workout the most stable speed to fly it back to landing. Install canopy opening/closing mod that doesn’t allow the canopy to go all the way down unless latched (see Don Barnes’ website, builder tips)

4. Practice, practice, practice engine out failures and glides to emergency landings.

5. Care for and maintain your engine like your life depends on it – since it does.

It’s beyond sad that so many of our pilot brothers have lost their lives flying the Legacy. This accident history illustrates clearly higher risk compared to the typical personal airplane. But from the reports of veteran Legacy flyers, I hold on to the belief that the Legacy is an amazing, fast, and beautiful airplane that just demands some unique handling and discipline beyond the typical personal airplane to fly it safely...

Valin Thorn

Legacy Project

Boulder, Colorado

Lancair Legacy Accident & Incident Record
February 2014

Accident Number	Summary Description	Event	Location	Make / Model	Regist.	Fatalities	Total Deaths to Date
Accident Number	Summary Description	Date	Location	Make / Model	Number	Fatalities	Total Deaths to Date
34	Stall just after takeoff	10/25/2013	Shepparton, Australia	Lancair Legacy	VH-ICZ	2	27
33	Stall just after takeoff	9/18/2013	Geraldton, Australia	Lancair Legacy	VH-ALP	1	25
32	IMC loss of fuel pressure then smoke in cockpit, crashed 4 miles short of airport	3/31/2013	Winston-Salem, NC	Lancair Legacy		2	24
31	Lost control on landing, broke in three pieces	5/1/2012	Animas Airpark, Durango, CO	Campbell Lancair Legacy	N12KX	0	22
30	Training flight, crashed into terrain, cause unknown	3/10/2012	Sao Paulo Brazil	Lancair Legacy	PT-ZZR	2	22
29	Collision with power lines 25 ft high, 1.2 miles from departure runway in night VMC.	3/1/2012	Belen, NM	Hemp Lancair Legacy	N273TE	2	20
28	Bounced landing, ran off runway, substantial damage	10/5/2011	KPLK, Bransom, MO	Evans Lancair Legacy	N92SX	0	18
27	Impacted snow covered mountain at 6500 ft MSL in VMC under unknown circumstances, 78 yr old pilot	5/18/2011	Pioneer, CA	Cameron Lancair Legacy	N121J	1	18
26	Unnecessary forced landing, crashed 3 miles short of runway. Ran left tank dry but right tank full of fuel, selector found in wreckage set for left tank.	5/6/2011	Richlands, NC	Peter Hebert Lancair Legacy	N23PH	2	17
25	Early morning night landing at Kansas City Int'l, landed in grass between taxi ways and struck airport sign, substantial damage	5/2/2011	Kanasa City, MO	Prichard Lancair Legacy	N50KP	0	15
24	Nose gear collapse on landing, minor damage	2/6/2011	San Jose Airport, CA	Bereznak Lancair Legacy	N817CB	0	15
23	Deice sys failure, ice on aircraft, left wing dipped abruptly on landing, gear collapsed, substantial damage	12/25/2010	Oakland/Troy Airport, MI	Bowers Harbor Legacy	N384AS	0	15
22	Engine failure, forced landing, pax injured	9/12/2010	Okahandja, Namibia	Onderstall Lancair Legacy	ZU-FCY	0	15
21	Take off in squall conditions with 20 kt crosswind gusting to 32 kts, substantial damage	6/25/2010	Burns, OR	Meyer Lancair Legacy	N29MM	0	15
20	Engine failure from oil starvation, stall crash on forced landing	11/21/2009	Watsonville, CA	Budd Lancair Legacy	N7JX	1	15
19	Pilot reports very difficult aircraft pitch control from open canopy on takeoff, crash landed short of runway returning to land	2/6/2009	Longmont, CO	Lancair Legacy	N939CB	0	14
18	Ran off end of runway on hot/fast landing, runway 5841 ft long	11/2/2008	Socorro, NM	Hemp Lancair Legacy	N273TE	0	14
17	Takeoff without canopy latched. Pilot likely impaired by pain med's and obstructive sleep apnea.	10/18/2008	Parowan, UT	Heisler Lancair Legacy	N151HT	1	14
16	Stall at low altitude on final at Oshkosh AirVenture	7/31/2008	OSHKOSH, WI	Moser Lancair Legacy FG	N515RB	2	13
15	Engine mechanical failure, forced landing short of runway, sheared off main wheels, failed connecting rod not from engine OEM	6/8/2008	Bend, OR	Lancair Prototype Legacy 2000	N199L	0	11
14	Fuel exhaustion during touch and go practice, stall/spin at low altitude on aggressive turn toward runway	5/30/2008	Murrieta, CA	Poulin L/Cullen D Lancair Legacy FG	N109DC	2	11
13	Stall, crash on takeoff. Distracted, challenged by open canopy on take off	4/13/2008	Lakeland, FL	Dayon Thomas Lancair Legacy	N1177M	1	9
12	Smoke in cockpit, possible fire onboard, forced landing in rocky terrain	4/1/2008	Krugersdorp Game Reserve, South Africa	Lancair Legacy	ZU-EFC	1	8
11	Aircraft veered off course after missed ILS approach crashing on road 4500 ft from approach end of runway	2/16/2008	Portland, OR	Legacy FG		1	7
10	Engine failure on first flight, possible cause mixture control attachment loose	4/14/2007	Fulton, NY	Romeo Lancair Legacy RG	N45FR	2	6
9	Take off with canopy unlatched, lost control, severe crash and injuries	8/26/2005	Ems, Austria	Hohenemser Lancair Legacy	N345MW	0	4
8	Stall spin, factory Legacy FG	8/15/2005	Madras, OR	Lancair Legacy FG Prototype	N359L	2	4
7	Fuel exhaustion, forced landing, mis-calibrated fuel sensors	8/14/2005	Groveland, CA	Barnes Lancair Legacy	N508DB	0	2
6	Engine failure, cause unknown, forced landing in rocky field, landing gear separated, post-crash fire destroyed airplane	5/1/2005	Nacogdoches, TX	Lancair Legacy	N204RH	0	2
5	Gear not extended for landing	4/8/2005	Bend, OR	Shannon Lancair Legacy	N115YP	0	2
4	Wing skin on upper left stub wing separated in flight, landed safely, examination showed poor bond	9/12/2004	Cambridge, OH	Lancair Legacy		0	2
3	Engine failure with continuous warning signs months before total failure. Super-charged engine. Engine tear down showed one piston burned through and other heat damage. Landing options overflown. Crashed in city.	8/1/2004	Madison, WI	Knoepflein Lancair Legacy	N98SN	1	2
2	Flew into Level 4 & 5 thunderstorms with ATC assistance	4/23/2004	Oakland, TN	Durr Lancair Legacy	N511WD	1	1
1	Takeoff with pitot covered, takeoff aborted, ran off end of 2600 ftrunway, substantial damage	9/19/2003	Kimberling City, MO	Brice Lancair Legacy	N27RM	0	0