Folland GNAT T 1 N18GT

Summary

On 29 July 2013 at about 17:20 local time, a Folland GNAT T 1 registered N18GT, operated by Foogair Inc, was involved in an accident near Georgetown, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 July 2013 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Georgetown, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Georgetown County Airport (GGE)

Coordinates

33.2994, -79.3386

Aircraft

Folland GNAT T 1

Registration

N18GT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Foogair Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Charleston → Georgetown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13FA340

1 person died.

The loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined due to postcrash fire damage. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to perform an aerobatic maneuver at low altitude, which did not allow sufficient time for him to regain airplane control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses at the airport reported that the pilot radioed them while on approach to let them know he was coming in to land, and they went outside to view the landing. The airplane crossed over the midfield of the airport and entered a right downwind. The airplane then made a high-speed flyby over the runway between 100 and 200 ft above ground level. At the end of the runway, the airplane pitched up about 30 degrees and began rolling left. According to the witnesses, the first 180 degrees of the aileron roll was "perfect," but, when the airplane reached about the 190-degree point, it abruptly pitched down to the right and collided with the ground. A postcrash fire ensued. Postcrash fire damage precluded a determination of whether a hydraulic system failure led to the loss of the tailplane/elevator pitch control. However, examination of the two switches on the control stick that operate the electric standby tailplane trim system, which can be used in the event of a hydraulic failure, revealed that the nose-down side of the right switch was inoperative. If a hydraulic failure occurred and this switch was inoperative, the pilot would not have had full tailplane authority during his aerobatic flight maneuver. Although the airplane was equipped with an additional, independent switch that would have allowed control of the tailplane/elevator in the event that this switch failed, the functionality of this switch could not be determined due to damage. Regardless of whether a mechanical problem initiated the pitch anomaly, the low altitude at which the pilot performed the flight maneuver allowed insufficient time for him to regain airplane control before the airplane impacted the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.