Southerland FREEBIRD LITESPORT U accident near Decatur, IL
On December 2, 2010, a Southerland FREEBIRD LITESPORT U (airplane) was involved in an accident near Decatur, IL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 2, 2010
- Place
- Decatur, IL
- Aircraft
- Southerland FREEBIRD LITESPORT U · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.835°N, 88.840°W
- NTSB ID
- 20101203X93424
Official records · CEN11LA090
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Miscellaneous - Record of Communication: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
On December 2, 2010, about 1406 central standard time, an experimental amateur-built Southerland Freebird Litesport Ultra airplane, N415US, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain following an in-flight loss of control while maneuvering after climbout from runway 18 at the Decatur Airport (DEC), near Decatur, Illinois. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot was fatally injured. The local flight departed about 1359 and was returning to DEC at the time of the accident. The pilot had requested a high-speed taxi clearance and the air traffic control tower cleared him to perform a high-speed taxi on runway 18. During the high-speed taxi, the airplane became airborne. The pilot requested a landing clearance and was given one. The pilot reported that he had trouble getting the airplane's nose down. He subsequently told the control tower that he had a MAYDAY. He indicated that he had "no control" of the airplane. He was given a clearance to land on any runway. His last transmission was that he "can't seem to keep the nose down." The airplane was observed by airport rescue and firefighting personnel to come "tail-end down" and then "nose down." The airplane came to rest about two miles east of DEC in a field near the 7300 block of Ridge Road. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)inspectors examined the wreckage on-scene. The airplane's right wing separated from the fuselage in flight and it came to rest about 285 feet ea
Probable cause
The pilot's reported inability to control his amateur-built airplane for undetermined reasons after the airplane inadvertently became airborne while conducting a high-speed taxi.
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Browse: Illinois
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
