Northwing Design APACHE SPORT accident near Taos, NM
On June 18, 2015, a Northwing Design APACHE SPORT was involved in an accident near Taos, NM. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 18, 2015
- Place
- Taos, NM
- Aircraft
- Northwing Design APACHE SPORT · ULTR
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.470°N, 105.619°W
- NTSB ID
- 20150619X14812
Official records · CEN15FA277
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 18, 2015, about 0738 mountain standard time, a North Wing Apache Sport powered-lift aircraft, N51311, impacted terrain following a loss of control during initial climb after takeoff from Taos Regional Airport (SKX), Taos, New Mexico. The sport pilot sustained fatal injuries, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The aircraft was registered to the pilot/owner and was being operated as a 14 Code of Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident near the accident site, and a flight plan had not been filed for the local flight, which departed about 0736. Several witnesses who were working on the departure end of runway 22 reported seeing the aircraft take off from the runway, climb to about 500 ft, and then enter a right turn. The witnesses stated that the aircraft seemed to "fall out of the sky" and stall before it collided with terrain adjacent to and right of the departure end of the runway. One witness stated that he heard the engine revving before impact. See figure 1 for an overhead image of SKX and the accident location. Figure 1. Overhead image of SKX and the accident location PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe 69-year old pilot held a sport pilot certificate for powered-lift aircraft. A review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had 540 total flight hours, all of which were in powered-lift aircraft and 300 hours of which were in the accident aircraft. According to logbook entries, the last time that the pilot had flown the accident aircraft was August 9, 2014. The most rece
Probable cause
The powered-lift aircraft's departure from controlled flight for reasons that could not be determined from the available information.
More accidents in NM
- Gates Learjet 25D, Sep 5, 1993
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Browse: New Mexico
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
