Sub-Sonex JSX-2 N465JC

Summary

On 23 May 2021 at about 19:47 local time, a Sub-Sonex JSX-2 registered N465JC was involved in an accident near Shreveport, Louisiana, 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

23 May 2021 at 19:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Shreveport, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

32.5009, -93.8583

Aircraft

Sub-Sonex JSX-2

Registration

N465JC

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

Shreveport → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21FA230

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with the water while performing aerobatics, resulting in the airplane’s impact into a lake. Contributing was the pilot’s decision to perform aerobatics at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast track data showed the airplane take off and shortly thereafter maneuver low-level over the lake until track data was lost. A witness reported that he and several others saw the airplane fly across the lake at an altitude of about 200 ft above the water. The witness reported that just before the accident he saw the airplane roll to the right until it was inverted and then it abruptly nosed down and impacted the water in a near vertical attitude. Another witness reported seeing the airplane performing a barrel roll over the lake during the previous week. The airplane's wreckage was recovered and examined. Airframe damage showed that the airplane impacted the water in a near-vertical, nose-low, right-wing-down attitude. Flight control continuity was confirmed, and the engine and engine control unit showed no preaccident malfunctions or failures that could have contributed to the accident. Toxicology testing showed the pilot had used the potentially impairing drugs sertraline, bupropion, quetiapine, gabapentin, and pramipexole. However, is not possible to reliably predict the combined effects of these drugs or how they affected any impairment from underlying medical conditions the pilot had. In addition, the small amount of ethanol detected may have been produced after the pilot’s death.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.