Lardas RENEGADE SPIRIT accident near Boonsboro, MD
On July 21, 1997, a Lardas RENEGADE SPIRIT (airplane) was involved in an accident near Boonsboro, MD. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 21, 1997
- Place
- Boonsboro, MD
- Aircraft
- Lardas RENEGADE SPIRIT · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.499°N, 77.649°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X08408
NTSB summary
On July 21, 1997, about 1910 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Renegade Spirit, N416RS, was destroyed as it impacted the ground while maneuvering near Boonsboro, Maryland. The certificated private pilot/owner was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from the pilot's private property, about 1900. A witness gathering hay opposite the pilot's property stated: "He (the pilot) appeared to try a steep climb, at which time I made the comment that he could tail stall if he's not careful. After recovering just in time from that climb, he appeared to attempt the maneuver again. This time he completely stalled, the left wing turned down towards the ground and the nose then turned straight down as he plummeted." Another witness stated that on the day of the accident: "My daughter and I started watching from the dining room windows, in the SW corner of our house when he zoomed SE right over us. He performed the same sequence-tight right hand turn/ steep climb/ cut engine/ dive/ start engine/ climb-over a field just to the NE of his home. He seemed barely to clear the tree tops...A couple of seconds later, he dipped a little and momentarily headed straight for us! We screamed and started to run...but by the time I got halfway around, he had recovered direction, and climbed a little again...As he passed by, I had a good, clear view of the plane about 70 feet south and 20 feet above me...about ten seconds before it crashed. There was certainly no flame or smoke
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control of his homebuilt airplane during a low level maneuver after a loss of engine power due to undetermined reasons. A factor in the accident was the pilot's alcohol impairment.
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Browse: Maryland
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
