Sawyer SKYBOLT N32DS

Summary

On 1 May 2004 at about 15:50 local time, a Sawyer SKYBOLT registered N32DS was involved in an accident near Philadelphia, Mississippi, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 May 2004 at 15:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Philadelphia, Mississippi, United States

Coordinates

32.7667, -89.1000

Aircraft

Sawyer SKYBOLT

Registration

N32DS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Louisville → Merdian

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL04CA108

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to see and avoid a guy wire which resulted in an in-flight collision.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with a guy wire while in low altitude cruise near Philadelphia, Mississippi. The pilot had just passed over Philadelphia Municipal Airport and turned left to a heading of 140 degrees, cruising at an altitude of 1600 feet. The pilot stated that at the reduced power setting of 2000 RPM, the airplane had a slightly higher angle of attack than normal cruise. After about 8 minutes on the heading of 140 degrees, the pilot felt a shock on the airframe and heard a loud noise. The airplane turned 30 degrees to the left. The airplane was still flyable so the pilot proceeded to the nearest airport, Barrett Field in Philadelphia, Mississippi and landed without incident. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. Examination of the airplane revealed that both left wings were broken off from the middle portion of wing, left wing spar damaged and the left aileron almost completely detached. The pilot stated that "aircraft with characteristics of tandem seating with Pilot-In-Command in the rear, and forward visibility obscured to any degree above the level flight path should not be flown for long periods on a steady heading. Small course changes, left and right will eliminate the obscured area."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.