Amateur-built LANCAIR accident near Titusville, Florida, April 22, 1991
On April 22, 1991 at about 2:53 pm local time, a amateur-built LANCAIR, registered N360R, was destroyed in an accident near Titusville, Florida (Space Center Executive airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE USE OF IMPROPER MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE ALTERNATE AIR DOOR BY THE AIRCRAFT OWNER/BUILDER RESULTING IN FAILURE AND SEPARATION OF THE DOOR WHICH RESULTED IN BLOCKAGE OF AIR FLOW TO THE CARBURETOR AND LOSS OF ALL ENGINE POWER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 1991 · about 2:53 pm local time
- Place
- Titusville, Florida · Space Center Executive · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built LANCAIR
- Registration
- N360R · no longer on the register · serial 354
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FLT EXPERIENCED TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND CRASHED WHILE ATTEMPTING A FORCED LANDING. PROPER FUEL QUANTITY WAS PRESENT IN ACFT AND ENGINE AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE TO INDICATE PRECRASH MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY. THE CARBURETOR AIR BOX ALTERNATE AIR DOOR WAS FOUND BROKEN OFF IN THE AIR BOX AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND WAS IN A POSITION TO BLOCK AIR FLOW TO THE CARBURETOR. THE DOOR WAS MADE BY THE ACFT OWNER/BUILDER OUT OF .032 INCH THICK METAL WITH A SHARP 90 DEGREE BEND AT THE POINT OF FAILURE. THE ACFT PLANS CALL FOR .040 INCH METAL. THE CARBURETOR AIR BOX HAD NO IMPACT DAMAGE WHICH WOULD HAVE CAUSED THE DOOR TO FAIL AND MARKS IN THE BOX INDICATED THE DOOR HAD MOVED AROUND IN THE BOX FOR SOMETIME.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 31,500 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 28,500 as pilot in command; 3,200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 18, 1991; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,730 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: COI Cocoa Beach FL at 2:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 6,001 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from TIX, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.