Whitehead Titan accident near Slaughter, LA
On April 20, 2009, a Whitehead Titan (airplane) was involved in an accident near Slaughter, LA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 20, 2009
- Place
- Slaughter, LA
- Aircraft
- Whitehead Titan · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 30.727°N, 91.142°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090420X70718
Official records · CEN09LA255
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On April 20, 2009, approximately 1100 central daylight time, a Titan Tornado II, N226BW, was destroyed when it collided with terrain during an attempted emergency landing at A&P Airpark Airport (LS77), Slaughter, Louisiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The student pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was fatally injured. The proposed cross-country flight had originated minutes before the accident, and was destined for Jonesville, Louisiana (L32). The pilot had just purchased the airplane and was going to ferry it to Jonesville, Louisiana, his home airport. The former owner of the airplane wrote, "The airplane took off on runway 36 and the takeoff looked normal until he got airborne and started what appeared to be a pilot-induced oscillation. He flew a circle still oscillating and came back to try to land. The oscillations continued all the way to the ground. His altitude appeared to be 0-20 feet when he oscillated nose down into the ground." The airport manager, also a witness, said the airplane appeared to "oscillate violently." A third witness, who was fishing nearby, saw the airplane overhead and waved at the pilot. He said everything "seemed fine." Shortly thereafter the airplane reappeared. He wrote, "It seemed like the motor was wide open, then shut off. This happened 2-3 times and the motor stopped." FAA inspectors who went to the accident site said they found no mechanical discrepancies with
Probable cause
The pilot's incorrect use of pitch control, resulting in induced pitch oscillations and loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's total lack of experience in aircraft make/model, and his lack of recency of experience.
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Browse: Louisiana
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
