Harrison Pietenpol Air Camper accident near Bainbridge, GA
On June 13, 2002, a Harrison Pietenpol Air Camper (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bainbridge, GA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 13, 2002
- Place
- Bainbridge, GA
- Aircraft
- Harrison Pietenpol Air Camper · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 31.000°N, 84.506°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020617X00895
Official records · MIA02LA110
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On June 13, 2002, about 1845 central daylight time, a homebuilt Harrison Pietenpol Air Camper, N7224X, operated by and registered to an individual, impacted with the ground just after takeoff from a private airstrip near Bainbridge, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The non-rated pilot reported serious injuries. One passenger was fatally injured. The local flight had originated from a private airstrip near Bainbridge, at 1844. Witnesses reported hearing the engine sputter and then saw the airplane nose into the ground. The pilot stated that takeoff and climb were "normal." At an altitude of about 300 feet he noticed the passenger in the front seat "squirm around" in his seat to look backwards. At that time the pilot noticed that the throttle came to "idle" and "would not respond." The pilot said that it appeared that the front seat passenger had "apparently used the connecting throttle linkage for a hand hold and broke or disconnected it" from the seat in the rear cockpit. With "no" power and the airplane almost at stall speed the pilot leveled off the airplane, and "crash straight ahead into the woods." The airplane impacted in a heavily wooded and swampy area, less than 1/2 mile from the takeoff point. According to the FAA inspector's statement, the pilot was interviewed via telephone several times during the first and second weeks of August 2002, after his hospital and recuperative period. The pilot said that his takeoff was good, but at one poin
Probable cause
a loss of power due to the passenger's inadvertent deactivation and restricting the movement of the throttle, which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent impact with trees.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
