Williams Christopher T SONEX accident near Wellington, FL
On February 17, 2014, a Williams Christopher T SONEX (airplane) was involved in an accident near Wellington, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 17, 2014
- Place
- Wellington, FL
- Aircraft
- Williams Christopher T SONEX · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 26.647°N, 80.295°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140217X70404
Official records · ERA14FA123
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn February 17, 2014, about 1250 eastern standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Sonex, N732SX, collided with terrain shortly after departing the Wellington Aero Club (FD38), West Palm Beach, Florida. The airline transport pilot/owner was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. Witnesses stated that during the initial climb, the engine "back- fired" and made a "sputtering" sound. The pilot entered a steep 180 degree turn back towards the airport. The airplane then stalled and entered a nose-down spiral, descended into a canal. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 58, held an airline transport pilot certificate for airplane multiengine land, airplane single-engine land, rotorcraft-helicopter, instrument helicopter, which was issued February 16, 2008, and a first-class airman medical certificate issued February 6, 2012, with no limitations. On the pilot's most recent application for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certificate, he reported a total of 13,000 flight hours. The pilot's logbook was not recovered; therefore, his total flight experience could not be determined. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe single engine airplane was manufactured in 2007, and was powered by an AeroVee series engine and equipped with a Sensenich model W54JV544G-AC9751, fixed-pitch propeller. The maintenance logbooks were not located; the
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed following a partial loss of engine power during initial climb, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper repair of a stripped spark plug hole, which led to a partial loss of engine power during initial climb.
More accidents in FL
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
