Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 29, 2014, about 1440 mountain daylight time, a Worthington Sonerai 11L experimental airplane, N63917, crashed near Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The private pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which was not operated on a flight plan.

The pilot purchased the airplane in November, 2013. The pilot's first flight in the airplane occurred the morning of the accident. The pilot told a family member that the first flight had terminated early due to a leak in the fuel sight gauge. The pilot made a repair to the airplane and took off for a second flight. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane "struggling to stay airborne," and that the engine was running roughly as the airplane approached an open field. The airplane was observed to cross over a set of power lines, roll to the left, and descend into the ground. A post-impact fire ensued.

Clear tubing and materials suitable for replacing the fuel sight gauge were located in the pilot's hanger. A cracked section of tubing consistent with the fuel sight gauge was recovered from a garbage can in the hanger. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 60, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Third-class medical certificate was issued on April 19, 2006, with no limitations.



An examination of the pilot's flight records indicated 573 total flight hours, with no hours in the accident model airplane. The flight records indicated a break in flying between September 19, 2003, and January 1, 2014. The pilot did not log any additional flight time following a single 1.2 hour flight on January 1, 2014, and the day of the accident. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe 1999-model airplane, serial number 00024, was a low wing, fabric and metal covered airplane, with a fixed tricycle landing gear, and was configured for two occupants. The airplane was powered by a direct drive, horizontally opposed, carbureted, air-cooled, four-cylinder engine. The engine was a Volkswagen Aero Vee rated at 75 horsepower, and was driving a two-bladed constant pitch wooden propeller. The last inspections on the airframe and engine were each conditional type inspections on November 1, 2013. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONWeather at APA at 1453 was reported as wind 330 degrees at six knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 17,000 feet, a broken ceiling at 25,000 feet, and altimeter 29.97. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe 1999-model airplane, serial number 00024, was a low wing, fabric and metal covered airplane, with a fixed tricycle landing gear, and was configured for two occupants. The airplane was powered by a direct drive, horizontally opposed, carbureted, air-cooled, four-cylinder engine. The engine was a Volkswagen Aero Vee rated at 75 horsepower, and wa