Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB WPR14LA273
SKYRAIDER SKYRAIDER — Lewiston, ID
| Date | June 28, 2014 |
| Location | Lewiston, ID |
| Aircraft | SKYRAIDER SKYRAIDER (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 29 |
| Pilot total time | 50 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
The private pilot, who also owned the airplane, was conducting a personal local flight. A witness at the airport observed the airplane taxi by to the east, turn west, rev up the engine as it turned around, sit for a while, and then depart. The witness reported that it was a windy, gusty day and that she did not observe anything unusual as the airplane turned to the east in a climb. She lost sight of the airplane as it went around the traffic pattern and could no longer hear the engine, and then she heard a thud. She did not hear the engine noise change, just the sudden thud. The airplane came to rest inverted in a wheat field with the tail elevated. The forward part of the airplane and the wings sustained aft crush damage and the tail was undamaged. The wreckage and ground scars were confined to the impact area.
Initial examination of the engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have resulted in the a loss of engine power. Although an elevator control rod was found fractured, it exhibited features consistent with overstress. The wreckage was disposed of before a more thorough examination could be conducted. It is likely that the pilot did not maintain adequate airspeed and exceeded the critical angle-of-attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at too low an altitude to recover.