Wayland John H AVID MARK IV N72MT

Summary

On 9 January 2016 at about 21:00 local time, a Wayland John H AVID MARK IV registered N72MT was involved in an accident near Minneola, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 January 2016 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Minneola, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Florida Flying Gators (3FD4)

Coordinates

28.6278, -81.8028

Aircraft

Wayland John H AVID MARK IV

Registration

N72MT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2000

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minneola → Minneola

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA086

1 person was seriously injured.

A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the crosswind turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot of the experimental, amateur-built, light sport airplane performed a takeoff and initiated a steep, left, crosswind turn to avoid horses off the end of the runway. About 300 ft above the ground, he smelled "burning wires" and thought he saw a "wisp of smoke." The engine "sputtered then died." The left wing stalled, the airplane rolled inverted, and entered a downward spiral. The airplane collided with trees and terrain before coming to rest, inverted, in a grassy field. Examination of the airframe and engine found no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot received his sport pilot certificate about 4 months before the accident and had accumulated about 120 hours of total flight time at the time of the accident. It is likely that, following the total loss of engine power, the pilot failed to reduce the airplane's angle of attack either sufficiently or quickly enough to prevent an aerodynamic stall/spin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.