Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB CEN16FA278
HARRIS-RUNYAN Skybolt 300 — Fairmont, OK
| Date | July 21, 2016 |
| Location | Fairmont, OK |
| Aircraft | HARRIS-RUNYAN Skybolt 300 (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-aerobatics Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 55 |
| Pilot total time | 3,591 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 2,000 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
The commercial pilot and pilot-rated passenger departed on a local flight with the intention of performing aerobatic maneuvers. According to a witness near the accident site, the airplane was performing aerobatic maneuvers. He stated that the airplane flew over at a high altitude and performed a barrel roll. The airplane continued south and then pitched up to climb straight up. The nose of the airplane came down through the horizon and the airplane started "tumbling". He stated that 1/3 of the way through the tumble the airplane rolled over on its back and entered an inverted flat spin.
Damage to the airplane and witness marks on the ground were consistent with the airplane impacting the ground in an inverted, nose low attitude. No anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction were observed. The witness did not see the final seconds of the flight and it is unknown if or when the pilot may have initiated a recovery from the intentional maneuver. It is likely that the pilot waited too long to recover from the aerobatic maneuver.