Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB CEN09LA255
Whitehead Titan — Slaughter, LA
| Date | April 20, 2009 |
| Location | Slaughter, LA |
| Aircraft | Whitehead Titan (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Ferry |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 56 |
| Pilot total time | 197 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | 0 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Incorrect use/operation - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience w/ equipment-Pilot - F
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Recent experience-Pilot - F
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Scheduled/routine inspection-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
The pilot had just purchased the experimental light sport airplane and was ferrying it to his home airport. Witnesses said that after the airplane took off, it started what appeared to be a pilot-induced oscillation. The pilot returned to the airport and was attempting to land when it collided with terrain. The oscillations continued all the way to the ground. The former owner told FAA inspectors that the pilot was over-correcting, or chasing the oscillations. He also said the airplane was quite sensitive around the lateral (pitch) axis. The pilot was a student pilot, and had never flown this airplane or any other light sport aircraft (LSA). The last time he had flown was almost a year before the accident. The airplane's last conditional inspection was more than two years old. The airplane's previous owner told FAA inspectors that the airplane was sold on an "as is, where is" basis, and the new owner was fully aware of these stipulations.