Bartels Lancair accident near Pacific Ocean, PO
On August 14, 2015, a Bartels Lancair (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pacific Ocean, PO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 14, 2015
- Place
- Pacific Ocean, PO
- Aircraft
- Bartels Lancair · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.636°N, 130.069°W
- NTSB ID
- 20150814X91539
Official records · WPR15LA242
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Audio File of ATC Communications: Recording (MP4), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 13, 2015, about 2235 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Bartels Lancair Evolution airplane, N427LE, descended into the Pacific Ocean about 490 nautical miles (nm) northwest of San Francisco, California. The commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Unmanned Systems, Inc., under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed and activated. The personal flight departed from Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, about 1815 with a planned destination of Hesperia Airport, Hesperia, California. Unmanned Systems was in the process of modifying the airplane so that it could be used as a trainer for pilots flying unmanned aircraft. During the month before the accident, the pilot, who was an employee of Unmanned Systems, had spent the majority of his time in Phoenix working on the development and modification of hardware and software systems for the airplane. The pilot had planned to fly the airplane to Hesperia the day before the accident to pick up his children and return with them to Phoenix. He had to delay his flight because flight line personnel at the fixed based operator (FBO) where he hangared the airplane had left the airplane's master switch on, which completely drained the batteries. At 1258 on the day of the accident, the pilot sent a text message to his ex-spouse (the children's mother) stating that he had worked on the airplane until 0500
Probable cause
The pilot's incapacitation for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered from the ocean.
More accidents in PO
- Piper PA-44-180T, Feb 25, 1987
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- Hughes 369, Dec 28, 2008
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
