Northwing APACHE SPORT N2725T

Summary

On 3 July 2014 at about 00:00 local time, a Northwing APACHE SPORT registered N2725T was involved in an accident near Omro, Wisconsin, 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

3 July 2014 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Omro, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

44.0444, -88.7494

Aircraft

Northwing APACHE SPORT

Registration

N2725T

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Omro → Omro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA336

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed to compensate for a newly installed wing, which resulted in the aircraft stalling and the subsequent loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot had installed a smaller, higher performance wing on the weight-shift control trike just before the accident flight. A witness reported seeing the trike in a descending spiral about 1 hour after it had taken off. The trike impacted terrain in a field along the final approach course for the airstrip at the departure airport. The installation of the smaller wing increased the stall speed of the trike. It is likely that the student did not account for this increase as he slowed the trike in preparation to land, which resulted in an inadvertent stall from which he did not recover. There were no records located during the investigation to determine the pilot's experience in this or any other aircraft. A postaccident examination of the airframe, wing, and engine did not reveal any preimpact failure or malfunction. Toxicology testing revealed that the pilot had recently used tramadol and amphetamine, but there was insufficient evidence to determine whether the drugs contributed to the cause of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.