NTSB Identification: LAX04LA125
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, February 17, 2004 in Apache Junction, AZ
Aircraft: Knapple/Wray Lancair IV-P, registration: N330KT
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain
errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final
report has been completed.

On February 17, 2004, about 1340 mountain standard time, an
experimental, turbine-powered Knapple/Wray Lancair IV-P, N330KT,
impacted desert terrain during an uncontrolled descent in the Lost
Dutchman State Park located 5 miles north of Apache Junction, Arizona.
The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part
91. The airline transport pilot and the passenger sustained fatal
injuries. The airplane was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions
prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed from
the Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona, about 1315, for the local area
test flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC)
interviewed a friend of the pilot. The pilot and passenger built the
airplane, and the purpose of the flight was to build flight hours on the
airplane for certification purposes. This was the third test flight.
After departure, the pilot planned to perform touch-and-go takeoffs and
landings at the Williams Gateway Airport, located approximately 19
nautical miles from the departure airport. The airplane's fuel tanks
were full upon departure.

A witness to the accident, a commercial pilot, was also interviewed. He
stated that the airplane was in a flat spin, about 2,000 feet above
ground level (agl). The airplane spun 3 to 4 times in a counterclockwise
direction over a period of about 15 seconds. A post-impact fire consumed
the airplane. The witness was about 1/2-mile from the accident site and
did not see the airplane prior to its entry into the spin.

Responding rescue personnel indicated that the wreckage was confined to
a 50-foot diameter around the airplane, and there were no ground scars
leading to the wreckage site. The wreckage was at the following
approximate global positioning satellite coordinates: 33 degrees 26.29
minutes north latitude by 111 degrees 33.08 minutes west longitude. The
fire was confined to the impact area.