Swearingen SX300 N42SX

Summary

On 5 July 2018 at about 17:45 local time, a Swearingen SX300 registered N42SX was involved in an accident near Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 July 2018 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Spruce Creek (7FL6)

Coordinates

29.0797, -81.0483

Aircraft

Swearingen SX300

Registration

N42SX

Category

Airplane

Year built

1993

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palm Coast → Daytona Beach

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA184

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during landing, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack, experiencing an aerodynamic stall and hard landing, which resulted in a landing gear collapse, loss of directional control, and runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger were landing at the conclusion of a personal flight. The passenger stated that, during the landing approach, he noted that the wing flaps were down, and three green landing gear lights were illuminated; the airspeed was about 90 knots on final approach. Just before landing, he heard the angle of attack indicator alarm and knew that the airplane had stalled. The airplane landed hard and the left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot initially applied full power to take off again; however, he then reduced the throttle to idle and applied full braking. The airplane slid off the left side of the runway and collided with the precision approach path indicator lights. The airplane continued across the grass until the right wing dug into the ground; it then cartwheeled, came to rest upright, and caught fire. Bystanders assisted the pilot and passenger in opening the canopy and egressing the airplane; the pilot succumbed to burn injuries about one week after the accident. The passenger stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, and examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the landing flare, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall. The subsequent hard landing resulted in a landing gear collapse and loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.