Drone Paul E PULSAR III N47PD

Summary

On 21 June 2010 at about 01:07 local time, a Drone Paul E PULSAR III registered N47PD, operated by Drone Paul E, was involved in an accident near Carmi, Illinois, 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

21 June 2010 at 01:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Carmi, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Carmi Municipal Airport (CUL)

Coordinates

38.0894, -88.1231

Aircraft

Drone Paul E PULSAR III

Registration

N47PD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Drone Paul E

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carmi → Carmi

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA334

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after an aborted landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident airplane was the third airplane in a formation flight of four airplanes that was in the process of landing when the accident occurred. The pilot of the fourth airplane in the flight reported that the airplanes flew for about 40 minutes practicing formation flying before they returned for landing. They did a formation left break using 5-second intervals in order to land in trail. The first two airplanes landed uneventfully and the accident airplane appeared to be flying fast down the runway prior to touching down. The second airplane had not taxied off the runway yet and the accident airplane was quickly approaching. The accident airplane aborted the landing and made a go-around maneuver. It then lifted off the runway abruptly with an unusually nose-high attitude. The pilot of the fourth airplane stated that the accident airplane appeared to stall and roll to the left. The airplane impacted the ground about 300 feet east of the runway. Witnesses on the ground reported that they heard a squeal, like brakes being applied, followed by an increase in engine noise as though the pilot had advanced the throttle. One witness observed the airplane lift from the ground and enter into a left arcing turn before impacting with the terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.