Aviat A-1B N166MA

Summary

On 27 May 2006 at about 01:05 local time, a Aviat A-1B registered N166MA was involved in an accident near Edna, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 May 2006 at 01:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Edna, Texas, United States

Coordinates

28.9417, -96.5369

Aircraft

Aviat A-1B

Registration

N166MA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

La Ward → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06FA140

2 people died.

The pilot's ostentatious display while maneuvering at low altitude which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent impact with the water.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft crashed into a lake after entering a spin. The 48-hour private pilot and pilot rated passenger were observed "buzzing" a campground and performing wingover-type maneuvers while at a low altitude. The airplane was also observed to dip its main tires into the lake during several passes and at times appeared "to be almost hovering" into the wind. Several witnesses observed the single-engine tail wheel equipped airplane continued to maneuver in the vicinity of the campground for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. On the airplane's last pass near the campground, the airplane was observed to climb steeply to an altitude of approximately 500 to 700 feet above ground level (agl) before it entered a right spin and began a rapid descent in a nose low attitude. The airplane spun approximately three turns before impacting the surface of a lake. The wreckage came to rest about 20-feet below the lake's surface and approximately 500-feet east of the shore of the campground. The wreckage of the airplane was floated to the lake's surface and then pulled on shore by rescue personnel. The investigation revealed that the airplane had accumulated a total of 405 hours since new. Flight control continuity was established and no pre-impact anomalies were noted with the airframe or the engine that could have prevented normal operation. The pilot and passenger tested positive for ethanol; however, according to the FAA's Forensic Toxicology Research Team Lead, it was not possible to discern what amount of ethanol came from consumption and what came from postmortem ethanol production.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.