Rans S18 accident near Fayetteville, TN
On August 2, 2011, a Rans S18 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fayetteville, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 2, 2011
- Place
- Fayetteville, TN
- Aircraft
- Rans S18 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.105°N, 86.543°W
- NTSB ID
- 20110802X53813
Official records · ERA11FA435
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 2, 2011, about 1110 central daylight time, an unregistered experimental Rans S18 light sport airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near a private turf airstrip in Fayetteville, Tennessee. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Family members stated that the accident flight was the pilot's first flight in the airplane, but that he had taxied it on the grass airstrip several times in order to familiarize himself with the flight controls. Two witnesses, located approximately 1/4 mile north of the north-south airstrip, stated that they heard an airplane that "sounded like a crop duster." They then observed the airplane airborne behind trees at the departure [northern] end of the runway, and stated that it appeared to bank sharply to the left, back towards the runway. They lost sight of the airplane, and afterwords, heard the sound of an impact. They also stated that the airplane's engine was running "loudly" until the sound of impact. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 70, held a private pilot certificate. According to the pilot's logbook, his last recorded flight was on August 14, 2005. A family member stated that the pilot's wife had urged him to get some flight instruction prior to flying the airplane by himself, since it had been some time since he had flown; however, the pilot declined to do so. The pilot's latest medical cer
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.
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Browse: Tennessee · Rans aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
