Andrews ZODIAC accident near Collegedale, TN
On March 29, 2013, an Andrews ZODIAC (airplane) was involved in an accident near Collegedale, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: minor.
- Date
- March 29, 2013
- Place
- Collegedale, TN
- Aircraft
- Andrews ZODIAC · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Minor
- Position
- 35.044°N, 85.020°W
- NTSB ID
- 20130330X85743
Official records · ERA13LA183
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 29, 2013, about 1546 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Zodiac 601XL, N999NA, operated by a private individual, sustained minor damage during an in-flight upset near Collegedale Municipal Airport (FGU), Collegedale, Tennessee. The flight instructor was not injured and the private pilot was fatally injured. The instructional flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed FGU about 1537. According to the flight instructor's written statement, the private pilot purchased the airplane about 3 weeks before the accident and was not familiar with it. The flight instructor agreed to provide instruction in the airplane and first wanted familiarize himself with it. The flight instructor flew the airplane solo uneventfully on two occasions, for a total of approximately 2 hours, with the second flight ending just before the accident flight began. After his second solo flight, the flight instructor shut down the engine and reviewed the airplane's characteristics with the private pilot. They then returned to the airplane, took their time entering the cockpit, fastened their seatbelts and secured the canopy; however, they were unable to start the engine. The private pilot subsequently unlatched and raised the canopy to call for assistance from ground personnel. A ground person provided a charger for the airplane's battery. As he started to attach the charger, the private pilot unbuckled his seatbelt to
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to ensure that his seatbelt was fastened and the pilots' failure to ensure that the canopy was latched properly, which resulted in the pilot's ejection from the cockpit following the opening of the canopy and the subsequent in-flight upset.
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Browse: Tennessee
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
