Foster John Glasair III — Oxford, CT, 2010

Foster John Glasair III — Oxford, CT

1 fatal Low-time pilotBase-to-final turn

Date	January 13, 2010
Location	Oxford, CT
Aircraft	Foster John Glasair III (amateur-built)
Purpose of flight	Personal
Conditions	Dusk · Visual Meteorological Cond
Phase / occurrence	Approach-VFR pattern final Altitude deviation
Pilot age	50
Pilot total time	279 hrs · Low time
Time in type	29 hrs
Fatalities	1

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper approach path during visual conditions at dusk, which resulted in an in-flight collision with power lines.

NTSB findings

Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Recent experience-Pilot

What happened

During a visual approach, at dusk, to a runway with an operating precision approach path indicator (PAPI), the pilot flew well below the approach path and collided with power lines on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern. The pilot had accumulated a total of 7.2 hours of night flight experience and his most recent night flight was more than 4 years prior to the accident. The accident occurred 11 minutes after sunset and 20 minutes before the end of civil twilight. The darker lighting conditions would have required the pilot to rely more on approach aids such as the PAPI lights. Examination of the wreckage and data recovered from an engine instrument system did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airplane.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.