Ratliff Hummel Bird accident near Pittsville, MD
On July 19, 2005, a Ratliff Hummel Bird (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pittsville, MD. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 19, 2005
- Place
- Pittsville, MD
- Aircraft
- Ratliff Hummel Bird · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 38.442°N, 75.403°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050726X01099
NTSB summary
On July 19, 2005, about 1045 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Hummel Bird, N707TR, was substantially damaged during impact with terrain, while departing Davis Airstrip (6MD8), Pittsville, Maryland. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector stated that the pilot had been building the accident airplane "on and off" for approximately 11 years. The accident flight was the pilot's first flight in the airplane. Review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated approximately 1,497 total hours of flight experience; all of which were in single engine airplanes. In addition, the pilot flew about 15 hours within the 90 days preceding the accident. There was no record of prior flight experience in a Hummel Bird. Two witnesses at the airport recorded the accident flight with video cameras. The videos displayed the airplane performing several high-speed taxis on runway 36, a 2,750-foot-long, 105-foot-wide, turf runway. The videos did not capture the liftoff from runway 36, but showed the departure climb. About 200 feet agl, the airplane slowly rolled right and descended into a field. The airplane impacted the field approximately 2,000 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. The FAA inspector examined the wreckage and confirmed flight control continuity. The inspector did not observe any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the airframe or engine. The reported weather at
Probable cause
A loss of control for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent into terrain.
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Browse: Maryland
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
