Event ERA21LA310

Factual narrative

On July 31, 2021, about 0953 eastern daylight time, a Liteflite PTY LTD Dragonfly Model C airplane, N799HG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Middletown, New York. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 glider tow flight. According to the tow pilot, the first flight of the day to check for convective activity at Randall Airport (06N), Middletown, New York, was uneventful. He parked the airplane; a hang glider was hooked up and he performed a normal takeoff. At about 50 ft above ground level, the engine lost total power. He immediately lowered the airplane’s nose; however, “there was too much drag from the tow line and the airplane stalled and pancaked to the ground.” After the airplane struck the ground, the engine regained power, and the airplane then ground looped and struck a snowplow parked on the ramp. The pilot of the hang glider being towed reported that as the tow line went slack, the airplane appeared as though it was stalling, and he then disconnected the tow line and landed safely. The owner of the airplane witnessed the accident and reported that during the climbout, the engine sputtered, the airplane "stalled," and full engine power was restored before the airplane struck the ground. An initial examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the fuselage boom tube sustained substantial damage. However, the inspector reported that the airplane had previously been partially dissembled by the operator without authorization, prior to his initial examination. The engine was subsequently examined under the supervision of an FAA inspector. When the inspector reached over the top of the engine to verify the engine serial number, the right side carburetor (one of two) fell out of its mounting. The inspector noted a loose securing clamp and a disconnected anti-vibration spring, and the carburetor was being held up by the throttle cable. The engine displayed no indications of excessive leakage of oil or fuel. The electric fuel pump was found disconnected. The spark plugs were removed and visually examined. The upper and lower spark plugs of cylinder Nos. 1 and 3 revealed rich fuel mixture, all spark plugs were found to be overtorqued without lubrication on threads and the upper spark plug terminal of the cylinder No. 1 was found bent after removal of the spark plug wire. Compression and suction were achieved on all cylinders. The tow pilot reported that the first flight of the day was to check for convective activity and was uneventful. After a hang glider was hooked up to the airplane, the pilot performed a normal takeoff. During the initial climb, the engine lost total power about 50 ft above ground level and although the pilot immediately lowered the airplane’s nose, he stated that “there was too much drag from the tow line and the airplane stalled and pancaked to the ground.” The hang glider pilot reported that when he noticed slack in the town line, he disconnected, and landed safely. The engine subsequently regained power and the airplane impacted the ground and was substantially damaged during the subsequent ground loop and impact with a parked snowplow. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that a clamp securing one of the two carburetors was loose, and its anti-vibration spring was found disconnected. This condition may have led to erratic engine performance including sputtering, surging, and loss of power. No other mechanical discrepancies were discovered during the examination. Based on this information, it is likely that the loss of engine power was due to the discrepancies noted with the carburetor. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (reciprocating)-(general)-Malfunction