Rodgers RAVEN accident near Brandt, SD
On April 11, 1998, a Rodgers RAVEN (airplane) was involved in an accident near Brandt, SD. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 11, 1998
- Place
- Brandt, SD
- Aircraft
- Rodgers RAVEN · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 44.660°N, 96.620°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X09817
NTSB summary
On April 11, 1998, at 1000 central daylight time (cdt), a Rodgers Raven, N17JR, operated by a private pilot was destroyed when while in cruise flight, the airplane departed controlled flight and impacted into a field. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was on file. Both the pilot and the passenger on board were fatally injured. The local flight originated at Clear Lake, South Dakota, at 0830 cdt. A witness, who saw the airplane just before the accident, said that he heard the airplane approach his farm from the north. "The motor was pretty loud." The airplane was traveling north to south at an altitude of approximately 100 feet above ground level (agl). The airplane came to a position due west of where the witness was standing, and made a flat turn. After the pilot completed the turn, the airplane lost altitude. "It was in a flat attitude as it descended. It didn't seem like the nose [of the airplane] dipped down." The witness said that he lost sight of the airplane when it went behind some trees. He said that he heard the airplane impact on the ground. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane wreckage at the site. The airplane was found resting inverted in a plowed field, 4 miles south-southeast of Brandt, South Dakota. The front portion of the airplane, from the propeller aft, to and including the cabin, was broken and crushed inward. The engine was bent to the right. The overhead plexiglass window was buckled outward and broken.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor contributing to this accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the airplane.
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Browse: South Dakota
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
