Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB CEN12LA179
SKEETER 1M — Oklahoma City, OK
| Date | March 3, 2012 |
| Location | Oklahoma City, OK |
| Aircraft | SKEETER 1M (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 92 |
| Pilot total time | 2,500 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-(general)-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
The pilot was flying his experimental home-built airplane on a cross-country flight when the canopy came loose, so he diverted to another airport to tighten the canopy. His airplane was on the downwind leg in the traffic pattern and another airplane was on final approach. Several witnesses said that when the accident airplane was on final approach in the traffic pattern, the pilot attempted to make a 180-degree turn. The pilot likely saw the other airplane on the runway, and, not knowing its intention, he attempted to add more space between his airplane and the other airplane. The accident airplane was observed about 400 feet above the ground in a 45-degree banked turn. The accident airplane subsequently descended and impacted terrain. The accident pilot did not have a current medical certificate. No preimpact anomalies were detected during a postaccident examination of the wreckage.