Eros 1600 accident near Lebanon, TN
On January 7, 2016, an Eros 1600 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lebanon, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 7, 2016
- Place
- Lebanon, TN
- Aircraft
- Eros 1600 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.196°N, 86.308°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160107X93631
Official records · ERA16FA084
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 7, 2016, about 1540 central standard time, an experimental amateur-built Eros 1600 airplane, N508AH, collided with terrain following a total loss of engine power near Lebanon, Tennessee. The private pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which departed from Lebanon Municipal Airport (M54). GPS data indicated that the airplane departed M54 at 1515 and conducted an approximate 20-minute local flight. The airplane then returned to the airport, landed, and initiated a second takeoff. One witness, who was a pilot, stated the airplane conducted a normal takeoff, then began a right turn at low altitude. The airplane then "abruptly" turned left about 100 ft above ground level (agl) "as if it was trying to return to the airport." The airplane subsequently rotated "sharply" to the left and descended to ground contact as it disappeared from his view. Several witnesses reported hearing the airplane "circle" at low altitude, followed by a loss of engine power. A friend of the pilot stated that the pilot had been performing maintenance on the engine because it was "intermittently missing." The pilot had installed a new ignition coil onto the engine, and on the day of the accident, the pilot reinstalled the engine onto the airplane. The accident flight was a test flight to determine if the engine problem had been resolved.
Probable cause
A failure of the front cylinder piston due to the pilot's improper maintenance, which resulted in a total loss of engine power after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to return to the runway at low altitude following the loss of engine power, and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of at
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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.
