Top Dog TD2 accident near Bemidji, MN
On August 27, 2012, a Top Dog TD2 was involved in an accident near Bemidji, MN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 27, 2012
- Place
- Bemidji, MN
- Aircraft
- Top Dog TD2 · WSFT
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 47.496°N, 94.953°W
- NTSB ID
- 20120829X21045
Official records · CEN12LA584
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Miscellaneous - Communication Summary: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 27, 2012, about 1847 central daylight time, an experimental weight-shift-control Top Dog TD2 (trike) aircraft, N71314, impacted terrain while landing at the Moberg Air Base Airport (MN13), near Bemidji, Minnesota. The private pilot was fatally injured and the passenger was seriously injured. The aircraft sustained substantial structural damage. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The local flight originated from MN13. The passenger, who had previously taken flying lessons, saw that the pilot was giving rides “on his recently acquired trike” over Grassy Lake. He accepted a flight from the pilot. The passenger’s statement, in part, said: We were coming from the lake and were traveling perpendicular to the runway. As we cleared a group of trees located on the East side of the runway about mid-way on the strip, he immediately banked hard to the right and start[ed] turning to the North, he also established a steep descent angle as he entered his final approach. The steep nose down approach and right bank angle never changed and we appeared to fly straight into the ground. I do not recall [the pilot] struggling to maintain or regain control or giving any other indication of a problem. I never heard him say anything or attempt to communicate with me in any way. I never lost consciousness and ended up hanging upside down from the seat. ... I
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and his inadequate flare during landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to obtain training on the operation of the accident aircraft.
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Browse: Minnesota
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
