Controlled Flight Into Terrain · NTSB CEN11FA663
THORP T-18 — Plainwell, MI
| Date | September 23, 2011 |
| Location | Plainwell, MI |
| Aircraft | THORP T-18 (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Approach-VFR pattern final Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 73 |
| Pilot total time | 1,921 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | 1,311 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot - C
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Ground vehicle-Contributed to outcome
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
The accident airplane was the second airplane in a flight of two airplanes on approach to the destination. The pilot in the first airplane stated that there were no radio transmissions by the accident pilot of any mechanical malfunctions and that the accident pilot asked him to keep up his speed on final. The visibility on approach was about 3 miles. A witness observed that the second airplane was close to the first airplane and that both airplanes were “quite” low on approach. He indicated that the accident airplane impacted a semitrailer and “flipped” into the ditch embankment west of the runway. A ground fire ensued when the airplane impacted terrain. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact anomalies.