Lucas D E/ Lucas K A ACROSPORT II N114KT

Summary

On 1 June 2008 at about 16:00 local time, a Lucas D E/ Lucas K A ACROSPORT II registered N114KT was involved in an accident near St Charles, Missouri, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 June 2008 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

St Charles, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Creve Coeur Airport (1H0)

Coordinates

38.7031, -90.5669

Aircraft

Lucas D E/ Lucas K A ACROSPORT II

Registration

N114KT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Louis → St Louis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08LA157

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain control during an attempted low pass maneuver.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot told several people that he intended to do a flyby over the model airplane flying field. Later that morning, when the accident airplane was about a mile away from the model airplane flying field, several witnesses observed it flying straight and level at less than 100 feet above the ground. The airplane pitched up, rolled right and impacted the ground vertically, heading in the opposite direction. One witness observed the airplane flying inverted when the nose pitched up, suddenly performing what the eyewitness described as an aileron roll, then sharply rolled nose down toward the ground. The pilot did not have a previous history of aerobatic flight at low altitude. The pilot had a previous history of frequent episodes of abnormal heart rhythm resulting in markedly elevated heart rate (220 beats per minute), palpitations, and neck discomfort. He had severe coronary artery disease discovered on autopsy, which would have reduced his tolerance to such a high heart rate. Additionally, the pilot was on a prescription antidepressant that could increase his risk for seizure, and had been regularly using a prescription narcotic with the potential for impairment. He had not revealed his history of abnormal heart rhythm or his use of an antidepressant and a narcotic medication to the Federal Aviation Administration. While the circumstances of the accident suggest the possibility of incapacitation, potentially due to an abnormal heart rhythm or seizure, the investigation was unable to determine whether the pilot became incapacitated at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.