Vail Lancair 235 accident near Sacaton, AZ
On January 6, 2005, a Vail Lancair 235 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sacaton, AZ. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 6, 2005
- Place
- Sacaton, AZ
- Aircraft
- Vail Lancair 235 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.067°N, 111.717°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050120X00088
Official records · LAX05FA061
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On January 5, 2005, at 1705 mountain standard time, an experimental single engine Vail Lancair 235, N64BV, impacted flat open desert terrain near Sacaton, Arizona, on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The private pilot/owner operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane was destroyed. The pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight that departed Stellar Airpark (P19), Chandler, Arizona, about 1645, and was scheduled to terminate at Stellar Airpark. No flight plan had been filed. According to witnesses interviewed by the Gila River Police Department, they heard an engine cutting out and when they looked up, they saw an airplane in a flat spin, and that it appeared to fall "straight to the ground." The witnesses stated that the airplane was doing "tricks." Another witness reported that he heard the airplane's engine "cutout" and when he looked up the airplane was in a flat spin. He thought the airplane was doing "tricks" as he had seen other airplane's do in the area, but then realized the airplane was not doing tricks. He stated that the airplane started to fall "straight down and doing the flat spin all the way down to the ground." Witnesses at the airport stated that the airplane had last been refueled with 19 gallons of fuel on December 26, 2004, and was not flown until January 5th, the day of the accident. Witnesses reported that the airplane took off, and completed one pass around the airport before departing to the south. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspecto
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in a stall/spin.
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Browse: Arizona
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
