Hartzell RANS S-12 accident near Strattanville, PA
On July 2, 2000, a Hartzell RANS S-12 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Strattanville, PA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 2, 2000
- Place
- Strattanville, PA
- Aircraft
- Hartzell RANS S-12 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.200°N, 79.320°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21570
NTSB summary
On July 1, 2000, about 2100 Eastern Daylight Time, an unregistered, homebuilt RANS S-12, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Taylor Ultralight Park (5PA9), Strattanville, Pennsylvania. The certificated commercial pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the local flight, which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a witness, the pilot's daughter, the pilot had rebuilt the airplane in South Carolina, and during the previous weekend, had flown it home to Pennsylvania. On the afternoon of the accident, the family went to the airstrip about 2015. The pilot conducted a preflight, and in the process, replaced a bolt "that had fallen out of the wing flap." About 2030, the pilot took off with his brother, flew a short time, then landed, and took off with the witness. He then landed again, and took his brother's girlfriend for a ride. He landed once more, then took his brother up again, on the accident flight. During that flight, the airplane first circled the field a couple of times, then did a couple of touch and goes at the airstrip. It then departed, and performed some tight turns. "It looked like they were heading in to land [when] the ultralight started corkscrewing down." When the witness got to the accident site, she saw that the airplane "was embedded in the ground [and] the tail was sticking straight up." Winds at the time were calm, and "the sun was still up but starting to go down." Another witness, the pilot's wife, stated t
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during low level maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.
More accidents in PA
- Boeing B-737-300, Sep 8, 1994
- Boeing 757, Sep 11, 2001
- British Aerospace J-3101, May 21, 2000
- Bell UH-1N, May 29, 2008
- Beech A36, Jul 30, 1989
Browse: Pennsylvania
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
