Aerostar S A YAK-52 N808TD

Summary

On 26 March 2011 at about 20:29 local time, a Aerostar S A YAK-52 registered N808TD, operated by Walker William E DBA, was involved in an accident near Palm Coast, Florida, 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

26 March 2011 at 20:29

Classification

Accident

Location

Palm Coast, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Flagler County Airport (XFL)

Coordinates

29.4636, -81.2056

Aircraft

Aerostar S A YAK-52

Registration

N808TD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Walker William E DBA

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Air Race/Show

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palm Coast → Palm Coast

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11FA214

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to recover from the nose-low descent during an aerobatic maneuver.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the third and final aerobatic flight that day, after completing a loop maneuver called the “heart” maneuver, the pilot failed to recover from the nose-low descent before ground impact. A video recording of the last segment of the flight revealed no parts separated from the airplane. The airplane was substantially damaged by impact forces and a postcrash fire that nearly consumed the fuselage and portions of both wings; however, there was no evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction of the flight controls for roll, pitch, or yaw. The right flap was noted to be extended, which agreed with the as-found position of the single flap actuator. Although no brain tissue, blood, or cardiac tissue were available for examination at autopsy, analysis of the limited evidence available found nothing to support a medical cause for impairment or incapacitation. Video evidence suggests that the airplane’s flightpath angle became shallower during the last 1.3 seconds of the recording, which was very near the time of impact, when compared with the earlier portion of the descent. Cursory examination of the engine and damage to the propeller blades suggest the engine was developing power at the moment of impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.