Airborne Windsports XT-912-L N44VZ

Summary

On 2 August 2009 at about 00:45 local time, a Airborne Windsports XT-912-L registered N44VZ was involved in an accident near Lihue, Hawaii, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 August 2009 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Lihue, Hawaii, United States

Coordinates

22.1028, -159.4717

Aircraft

Airborne Windsports XT-912-L

Registration

N44VZ

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port Allen Airp → Port Allen Airp

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA386

2 people were seriously injured.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain control of the airplane following an in-flight encounter with turbulence during descent.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the light sport weight-shift-control airplane said that they were descending through a "hole in the clouds" when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence, resulting in the flight instructor losing control of the aircraft. The flight instructor subsequently deployed the aircraft's onboard rocket-propelled parachute system before impacting mountainous terrain and coming to rest on a hillside, entangled in surrounding trees. The flight instructor reported no anomalies with the airplane prior to or during the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.