Zeiler BAKENG DUCE 1976 CZ N122BD

Summary

On 15 April 2017 at about 19:25 local time, a Zeiler BAKENG DUCE 1976 CZ registered N122BD was involved in an accident near Oliver Springs, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 April 2017 at 19:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Oliver Springs, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

36.0233, -84.3003

Aircraft

Zeiler BAKENG DUCE 1976 CZ

Registration

N122BD

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Williamsburg → Oliver Springs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA236

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s unstabilized approach and failure to go around, which resulted in impact with trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during approach, while flying from the rear seat of the tandem-seat, high-wing airplane, he "needed to lose speed and altitude." He placed the airplane in a right-wing-low, forward slip, and he added that the airplane had poor forward visibility at slower speeds. He aligned the airplane with the center of the runway and "pulled the nose up slightly to slow [down]," and a "wind gust" came from the right and "pushed" the airplane over the trees. He "saw [the] tree tops coming up fast under [his] left wing," and "out of shear instinct, [he] banked slightly right to avoid going in nose first." The airplane collided with the tree tops. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system about 3 nautical miles from the accident site, about the time of the accident, reported that the wind was variable at 3 knots. The pilot landed to the southwest.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.