Rans S18 UNREG

Summary

On 2 August 2011 at about 16:10 local time, a Rans S18 registered UNREG, operated by Larry Eugene Sheaks, was involved in an accident near Fayetteville, Tennessee, 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

2 August 2011 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Fayetteville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Private

Coordinates

35.1047, -86.5431

Aircraft

Rans S18

Registration

UNREG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Larry Eugene Sheaks

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fayetteville → Fayetteville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11FA435

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was making his inaugural flight in the recently purchased, recently reassembled unregistered experimental airplane. After the pilot's initial takeoff from his home airstrip, witnesses saw the airplane turn back toward the runway then lost sight of it behind a tree line. They continued to hear the airplane's engine operate until hearing the airplane impact the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preexisting mechanical anomalies, and structural damage indicated that it had impacted the ground in a stall/spin to the right. The pilot had not flown in about 6 years, and when a family member suggested that he get some refresher flight training before his first flight in the airplane, the pilot declined to do so.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.