BFO95LA072

Factual narrative

On June 25, 1995, at 1930 eastern daylight time, a Kolb Twinstar, N7165L, collided with a localizer antenna during an emergency landing at Virginia Highland Airport, Abingdon, Virginia. The student pilot was not injured and the aircraft was destroyed. The aircraft was being operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan had been filed. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the student pilot had taken off at 0910 from Virginia Highland Airport and had been doing touch and go landings when the two cycle engine lost power. The pilot stated he had just completed his turn to base leg at an altitude of approximately 300 feet, when the engine lost power. The pilot stated that one of the characteristics of a two cycle engine was to "loadup" after an extended time at idle power. The pilot decided he had sufficient altitude and would utilize the same traffic pattern to the runway. He thought he had made it to the runway when the airplane hit the top of the localizer antenna and flipped. The student pilot's airman class 3 medical certificate/student pilot certificate expired in August 1994, and had no signature for solo flight. The student pilot's logbook had no endorsements for dual instruction received. The student pilot stated, "he had not received dual instruction, but, had two flights with a friend in an airplane just like mine." The pilot did not know if the airplane had an engine out best glide airspeed. The experimental aircraft was assembled by the owner/builder student pilot without assistance or verification of the work completed. The last annual condition inspection was recorded on 8/10/91. THE STUDENT PILOT HAD BEEN DOING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS WHEN THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE LOST POWER DURING THE TURN TO BASE LEG AT AN ALTITUDE OF 300 FEET AGL. ON FINAL, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE TOP OF THE LOCALIZER ANTENNA LOCATED AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY. ALTHOUGH NO MECHANICAL REASON COULD BE FOUND FOR THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER, THE STUDENT PILOT STATED THAT ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A TWO CYCLE ENGINE IS TO 'LOADUP' AFTER AN EXTENDED TIME AT IDLE POWER. THE LAST CONDITON INSPECTION WAS COMPLETED IN 1991. THE STUDENT PILOT'S AIRMAN CLASS 3 MEDICAL CERTIFICATE/STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE HAD EXPIRED AND HAD NOT BEEN ENDORSED FOR SOLO FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12