Amateur-built Q accident near Spring Hill, Florida, March 17, 2022
On March 17, 2022 at about 3:30 pm local time, a 1985 amateur-built Q, registered N3QP, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Spring Hill, Florida (Brookville-Tampa Bay Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper modification of the pull starter motor, which resulted in its failure and the subsequent loss of engine power.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 2022 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Spring Hill, Florida · Brookville-Tampa Bay Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Q 200, built 1985
- Registration
- N3QP · registry record · serial 2841
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was also the owner and builder of the experimental amateur-built airplane. While returning to the airport after a local flight, the engine lost oil pressure, so the pilot diverted toward the nearest airport. The engine then began to run roughly and lost partial power. The airplane was not able to glide to the runway and collided with a ditch in a field during the forced landing. The pilot described that his postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the pinion gear on the pull starter motor fractured into several pieces that entered the accessory gear case, likely seizing the oil pump. About 4 years and 100 flight hours before the accident, the pilot had modified the pull starter motor from its original design so that the motor would fit in the airplane. Postaccident metallurgical examination found that the pull starter motor’s pivot lever was shortened. The pivot lever arm was designed to move the starter clutch and engage the pinion (small) gear to the crankshaft gear. The pinion gear teeth displayed indentations in their surfaces that indicated that they were only partially engaged to the crankshaft gear when the starter was being operated, a condition which was likely the result of the shortened pivot lever. This ultimately resulted in increased stress on the gear teeth during engine start and the subsequent failure of the gear in overstress. The liberated gear teeth likely damaged and seized the engine oil pump, and resulted in the partial 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.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
- Loss of engine power (partial) during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Aircraft maintenance event during prior to flight
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Modification/alteration › Owner/builder
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine starting › Starter › Damaged/degraded
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,300 hours in all; 1,400 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 2,300 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 25, 2020
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,415 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, February 1, 2022; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 1,415 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIE Saint Petersburg FL at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 5,014 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,600 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 11:32 am from KBKV, 2 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KBKV 171532Z 28004KT 10SM BKN026 BKN031 22/16 A3009
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
5 documents, released by the NTSB on September 20, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memoranda for the Record | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Photo Array | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Materials Laboratory Report 22-091 | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Evidence Control Form | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.