Christen Industries A-1 accident near Lansing, NC
On December 2, 1997, a Christen Industries A-1 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lansing, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 2, 1997
- Place
- Lansing, NC
- Aircraft
- Christen Industries A-1 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.490°N, 81.499°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X09342
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 2, 1997, about 1315 standard daylight time, a Christen Industries A-1, N9613P, registered to a private owner, and operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91, personal flight, impacted with wires, and came to rest in the front yard of a private home near Lansing, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed. The private pilot was fatally injured. There were no injuries to any persons on the ground. The flight had departed from Ashe County Airport, about 1305. The airplane was seen flying low in a westerly direction, through a valley, in hilly and rolling terrain, about 5 miles west of the departure airport. Two men sitting in a pickup truck near the crash site said in a statement to police, they were in the truck with the engine off and the windows down. The driver said they were sitting there for about 5 minutes when he looked out his left window and saw the airplane coming toward them. The driver said he "does not recall hearing the engine running" on the airplane as it was coming down. The driver told his passenger to "duck he's going to hit us." In addition, the truck's driver said, "...he [saw] the right wing hit a cable," and then come off the airplane just before impact with the ground. Local residents said that the pilot/owner of the airplane lived in a house a short distance west of the crash site, and had flown around the area often. The airplane had not been seen in the area on the day of the accident. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight about 36 degrees, 2
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a wire.
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Browse: North Carolina · Christen aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
