Burkholder Jimmy C ZODIAC 601HD N601DE

Summary

On 10 March 2009 at about 16:49 local time, a Burkholder Jimmy C ZODIAC 601HD registered N601DE, operated by Burkholder Jimmy C, was involved in an accident near Live Oak, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 March 2009 at 16:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Live Oak, Florida, United States

Coordinates

30.3000, -83.0244

Aircraft

Burkholder Jimmy C ZODIAC 601HD

Registration

N601DE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Burkholder Jimmy C

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Live Oak → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA193

2 people died.

The pilot's loss of control of the airplane for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Two witnesses observed the experimental airplane flying overhead and noticed smoke coming from its front and underside. One of the witnesses reported that one wing was lower than the other and that the airplane was "loud." No radar data was available to determine the airplane’s flight path; examination of the airplane revealed that it impacted a tree with one wing, then impacted the ground at the base of the tree with the top half of the tree embedded in the fuselage. There was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomaly; however, the airplane was completely consumed by a postcrash fire. Examination of the pilot’s logbook revealed a total of 249 hours of flight experience. In the previous 9 years he logged 18 hours, including a 5-year period of time with no flight time logged. The pilot was also the builder and repairman for the airplane. His most recent entry in the airframe logbook was for a routine conditional inspection 5 months prior to the accident, at an aircraft total time of 249 hours. The origin of the smoke could not be determined; however, it could have affected the pilot's ability to control the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.