Airborne XT-912 N227EK

Summary

On 6 September 2008 at about 18:00 local time, a Airborne XT-912 registered N227EK was involved in an accident near Chelan, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 September 2008 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Chelan, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Chelan (S10)

Coordinates

47.8661, -119.9428

Aircraft

Airborne XT-912

Registration

N227EK

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chelan → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08LA290

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot had stopped flying about 1970, resuming his flying again about 11 months prior to the accident. He received instruction in weight-shift aircraft with the goal of obtaining his sport pilot endorsement. On the day of the accident, the pilot received his solo endorsement from his instructor and made a 1-hour solo flight. After resting for about an hour, the pilot began his second solo flight. The accident occurred about 40 minutes into this flight. According to witnesses, the pilot performed several touch-and-go landings without incident. During the initial takeoff climb following another touch-and-go landing, the aircraft climbed at a "steep" angle, and at an altitude of about 100 to 200 feet above ground level, the aircraft rolled left, nosed down, spiraled and descended to ground impact. One witness stated that the engine remained at takeoff power throughout the entire event. An on-scene examination of the wreckage conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector indicated the aircraft impacted in a near-vertical attitude. The examination revealed no evidence of any preimpact damage or discrepancies. An autopsy determined the pilot's cause of death was blunt force trauma, and the findings in the autopsy report did not include any notations of preexisting disease. The reason the pilot lost control of the aircraft could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.