Skwira Matthew J W-10 TAILWIND N251WT

Summary

On 23 January 2018 at about 21:30 local time, a Skwira Matthew J W-10 TAILWIND registered N251WT was involved in an accident near Sauk Centre, Minnesota, 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

23 January 2018 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sauk Centre, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Sauk Municipal (D39)

Coordinates

45.6597, -94.9303

Aircraft

Skwira Matthew J W-10 TAILWIND

Registration

N251WT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2017

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cambridge → Sauk Centre

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18FA083

1 person died.

Impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed on a multi-leg cross-country flight in his experimental amateur-built airplane. The calculated total flight duration was about 2 hours 16 minutes. There were no radio communications from the pilot or radar data associated with the airplane, and there were no witnesses to the accident. The wreckage was located the morning after the accident about 2.7 miles south of the last airport of departure. Friends of the pilot reported that he typically kept the airplane fueled to capacity. The airplane held 32 total gallons of fuel and its estimated fuel consumption was about 10 gallons per hour. The fuel system was compromised by impact damage and the fuel on board at the time of the accident could not be determined; however, if he had departed initially with a full fuel tank, he would have had sufficient fuel for the flight. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any evidence of mechanical anomalies. One of the wooden propeller blades was shattered, indicative of some level of rotation at impact, but a power level could not be determined. Autopsy and toxicology of the pilot revealed no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation. Given the lack of information about the final moments of the flight, the reason for the impact with terrain could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.