NTSB Identification: CEN11FA420
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, June 26, 2011 in Farmdale, OH
Aircraft: LUSCOMBE 8A, registration: N71687
Injuries: 1 Fatal,1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On June 26, 2011, at 1450 eastern daylight time, a Luscombe model 8A airplane, N71687, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while performing a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver at a private airstrip near Farmdale, Ohio. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the private pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The local-area flight was originating at the time of the accident.

Several witnesses reported that the pilot had flown at least two flights earlier in the day, during which they observed the airplane perform several aerobatic maneuvers near the private strip. On the accident flight, the airplane was observed to enter a near vertical climb shortly after liftoff on a southerly heading. The airplane continued in the near-vertical climb to about 300 feet above the ground before turning to the left and entering a nose-down descent toward the runway. One witnesses described the aerobatic maneuver as a wingover or a hammerhead. Another witness stated that the airplane appeared to stall at the apex of the vertical climb, before it entered the left turn and nose-down descent. The same witness reported hearing the engine operate at a high speed during the descent. Several witnesses noted that the airplane impacted the grass runway as it was recovering from the dive on a northerly heading.

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