Sorenson LIGHTNING accident near Brevard, NC
On June 8, 2009, a Sorenson LIGHTNING (airplane) was involved in an accident near Brevard, NC. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 8, 2009
- Place
- Brevard, NC
- Aircraft
- Sorenson LIGHTNING · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.270°N, 82.644°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090608X15633
Official records · ERA09LA329
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On June 8, 2009, about 1640 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built, Lightning, N130DS, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees while attempting to land following loss of engine power at the Transylvania County Airport (3NR3), Brevard, North Carolina. The certificated flight instructor and a private pilot were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight that was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane was owned and built by the private pilot, and was based at 3NR3. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, a witness observed the airplane depart 3NR3 between 1430 and 1500. A witness at the Oconee County Regional Airport, Clemson, South Carolina, located about 40 miles south-southwest of 3NR3, reported that the airplane was practicing touch-and-go landings at the airport between 1530 and 1600. At 1630, witnesses at 3NR3 heard a pilot from the airplane contact the airport's Unicom operator. One witness observed the airplane fly over the airport from the south, and enter the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 9, a 2,903-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The witness stated that the airplane was at the normal traffic pattern altitude and that the engine sounded normal. The witness then went indoors and noticed that he did not hear any further communications from the airplane over the Unicom frequency. A witness, located in the vicinity of the accident site, stated that he observed the airplane in a le
Probable cause
Both pilots failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering after a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
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Browse: North 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.
