Hargett Sky Ranger II accident near Rock Hill, SC
On October 16, 2008, a Hargett Sky Ranger II (airplane) was involved in an accident near Rock Hill, SC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 16, 2008
- Place
- Rock Hill, SC
- Aircraft
- Hargett Sky Ranger II · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.933°N, 81.028°W
- NTSB ID
- 20081016X40451
Official records · ERA09LA019
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On October 16, 2008, about 1245 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Hargett Sky Ranger II, N75684, was substantially damaged when it impacted a field near Rock Hill, South Carolina. The non-certificated pilot was killed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight, which originated at a private airstrip in Rock Hill. The local personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, there were no witnesses to the accident. The pilot registered the airplane in December 2007, but it had not been issued an airworthiness certificate. The inspector also noted that the airplane, which was assembled by the pilot, had accumulated 81 hours of flight time. The pilot, age 51, had not taken formal flight training, but was teaching himself how to fly. He had also received instruction from another non-certificated individual who had the same type of airplane, and the two of them would follow each other on short cross country flights over unpopulated areas, mostly farm fields. The FAA inspector further noted that interviewees had characterized the pilot as "really enthusiastic and excited" about building and flying his airplane. The FAA inspector also reported that although the pilot had taken off initially from a private airstrip about a mile away from the accident site, the property where the accident occurred also included a private airstrip. The owner of the second airstrip, who had known the pilot since he was a boy, h
Probable cause
The non-certificated pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and a subsequent impact with the ground. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's lack of training and his impairment due to recent use of marijuana.
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Browse: South Carolina
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
