Zenith CH601 N22XF

Summary

On 10 November 2021 at about 15:03 local time, a Zenith CH601 registered N22XF was involved in an accident near Oak Hill, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 November 2021 at 15:03

Classification

Accident

Location

Oak Hill, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.8669, -80.9137

Aircraft

Zenith CH601

Registration

N22XF

Category

Airplane

Year built

2021

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Smyrna → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22FA056

1 person died.

A loss of airplane control while maneuvering at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to radar data, after takeoff, the pilot flew for about 3 minutes at an altitude of about 200 ft above ground level before making a left turn at a ground speed of 98 knots. Shortly after the turn, the radar data ended. The wreckage was located in heavily wooded, jungle-like terrain, in the immediate vicinity of the last radar return. An on-scene examination revealed the airplane likely impacted trees then the ground in a steep nose-down attitude at a high rate of speed. There was a strong odor of aviation fuel around the impact area. All major components of the airplane were located at the accident site. The engine was buried about 2 ft into the ground and the empennage was folded forward over the cockpit area. The two-blade wooden propeller was fragmented but located in the impact crater with the engine. Examination of the airplane wreckage and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation at the time of impact. As such, it could not be determined why the airplane descended to ground impact. Toxicological testing of postmortem specimens from the pilot were positive for ethanol and n-butanol. Detection of these substances was most likely due to postmortem production (rather than consumption) and likely did not contribute to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.