Fields STEEN SKYBOLT N94RG

Summary

On 12 January 2017 at about 17:00 local time, a Fields STEEN SKYBOLT registered N94RG was involved in an accident near Era, Texas, 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

12 January 2017 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Era, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.5161, -97.2600

Aircraft

Fields STEEN SKYBOLT

Registration

N94RG

Category

Airplane

Year built

1990

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Era → Era

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17FA075

1 person died.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control while conducting aerobatic flight maneuvers with insufficient altitude to recover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that he was outside his house when he heard an airplane "flying aerobatics." He said that he heard the airplane conduct two to three passes and that he could hear the engine "cycling under load as they do in airshows." He then went to the other side of the house, at which point he saw the airplane in a hammerhead climb (climbing straight up); the airplane then entered a slow, spiraling descent straight down, during which he did not hear engine noise. The airplane made about four spirals before it went out of sight behind rising terrain. The witness added that it did not appear that any attempt was made to recover from the descent. He was uncertain about what altitude the airplane was at when it was at the top of the hammerhead maneuver. The airplane wreckage was found less than 1/4 mile from the pilot's private grass airstrip. The examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Given the witness statement, it is likely that the pilot lost airplane control while conducting aerobatic flight maneuvers and that there was insufficient altitude to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.