Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB ERA18LA249
Edward R. Sugg Sonex — Marion, SC
| Date | September 12, 2018 |
| Location | Marion, SC |
| Aircraft | Edward R. Sugg Sonex (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 85 |
| Pilot total time | 8,615 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 115 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
The 85-year-old commercial pilot was conducting a local pleasure flight in his experimental, amateur-built airplane. A witness near the accident site saw the airplane flying at low altitude before it entered a "straight up" climb followed by a descent and continued "straight down" toward the ground. It did not appear that the pilot attempted to pull out of the dive.
Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical discrepancies that would have precluded normal operation. Despite the pilot's age, his daughter stated that he had no known medical issues (cardiac, respiratory or physical) that would interfere with his flying, and no evidence of incapacitation or impairment were identified by the autopsy and toxicology testing. The reason for the airplane's impact with terrain could not be determined based on the available information.