S C Aerostar S A YAK-52W N691T

Summary

On 25 July 2009 at about 12:30 local time, a S C Aerostar S A YAK-52W registered N691T, operated by John Hutton Corp, was involved in an accident near Kaunakakai, Hawaii, 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

25 July 2009 at 12:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Kaunakakai, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Panda Airport (HI49)

Coordinates

21.1478, -157.2583

Aircraft

S C Aerostar S A YAK-52W

Registration

N691T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John Hutton Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honolulu → Kaunakakai

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR09CA481

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain while in the airport traffic pattern in dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was returning to his home airport in dark night conditions. He performed a low approach, about 50 feet above the runway, to clear it of any wildlife that may have been present. After turning into the crosswind leg, he turned off the landing lights due to a high ambient glare that left him with a partial loss of night vision for a few seconds. He also stated that he neglected to set the elevator trim to maximum up, and that he had maintained a full cruise power setting. He reported that the altimeter was dark and not readable after he turned into the downwind leg of the approach. Shortly afterward the airplane unexpectedly contacted the ground, which resulted in structural damage to both wings and the fuselage. The airplane came to rest in an upright position in a nose-down attitude. The downwind portion of the traffic pattern is on a gradual slope that is about 200 feet higher than the runway. The pilot reported that he had made numerous night landings to his home airport. On the accident landing he did not cross-check the altimeter during the approach and had not properly configured the airplane for landing. He added that if he would have followed his normal regimen, and configured the airplane properly, the airplane would have been about 1,000 feet higher than it was when it impacted the terrain. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical problems with the airframe or engine at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.