Amateur-built Angel Hawk II accident near Homer, Louisiana, June 9, 2017

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The private pilot reported that, during the accident flight, he planned to take off and circle the experimental, amateur-built airplane above the runway to check engine operation. Just after takeoff, the engine began sputtering. He made a left 180° turn to return to the runway and during the turn, the engine experienced a total loss of power. He stated that the airplane stalled when he was in the turn and he did not have enough time to recover before impacting the ground. The airplane had accumulated about 47 hours of run time and was in the initial flight test stage when the accident occurred. The pilot reported that he had been having trouble with increased cylinder head temperatures on the converted automotive engine. The engine had experienced a total loss of power during a previous flight, but the pilot was able to land the airplane without incident. Following that event, he replaced some ignition system components and adjusted the valves. He was then able to start the engine and reported that it "ran fine" during subsequent test runs. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel mixture was not adjustable in the cockpit. Examination of the engine revealed that there was melted plastic material inside the distributor rotor and the distributor drive shaft. The condition of the spark plugs was consistent with an overly lean fuel mixture and/or high temperature operation. It is likely that the melted distributor rotor was the result of the engine's high operating temperatures; the degradation of the distributor and its drive shaft would have resulted in a shift in ignition timing and a subsequent loss of engine power.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.