Rodgers RAVEN N17JR

Summary

On 11 April 1998 at about 15:00 local time, a Rodgers RAVEN registered N17JR, operated by Douglas C. Aamold, was involved in an accident near Brandt, South Dakota, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 April 1998 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Brandt, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.6598, -96.6201

Aircraft

Rodgers RAVEN

Registration

N17JR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Douglas C. Aamold

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clear Lake → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98LA120

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor contributing to this accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness said that he heard the airplane approach his farm from the north. 'The motor was pretty loud.' The airplane was traveling north to south at an altitude of approximately 100 feet above ground level (agl). The airplane came to a position due west of where the witness was standing, and made a flat turn. After the pilot completed the turn, the airplane lost altitude. 'It was in a flat attitude as it descended. It didn't seem like the nose [of the airplane] dipped down.' The witness said that he lost sight of the airplane when it went behind some trees. He said that he heard the airplane impact on the ground. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies. The pilot told a witness, two weeks prior to the accident, that 'he only had about an hour's worth of flight time' in the airplane. Another witness said that the pilot might have flown the airplane the day before the accident, but it was more likely that he just did taxi tests. FAA toxicology testing of specimens from the pilot revealed volatile concentrations of bupropion in blood and liver samples.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.