Fields Steen Skybolt accident near Era, TX
On January 12, 2017, a Fields Steen Skybolt (airplane) was involved in an accident near Era, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 12, 2017
- Place
- Era, TX
- Aircraft
- Fields Steen Skybolt · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.516°N, 97.260°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170113X11749
Official records · CEN17FA075
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 12, 2017, between 1100 and 1200 central standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Steen Skybolt airplane, N94RG, collided with terrain after a loss of control near Era, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was owned and being operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed near the accident site at the time of the flight, and a flight plan had not been filed. The flight departed from the pilot's private grass airstrip, located less than 1/2 mile from the accident site, between 1100 and 1200. A witness reported that he was outside his house when he heard an airplane "flying aerobatics." He said that he heard the airplane conduct two to three passes and that he could hear the engine "cycling under load as they do in airshows." He then went to the other side of the house, at which point he saw the airplane in a hammerhead climb (climbing straight up); the airplane then entered a slow, spiraling descent straight down, during which the witness did not hear engine noise. Although he was certain the airplane was spiraling down and not in a flat spin, he was less certain if it was in a right or left spiral. The airplane made about four spirals before it went out of sight behind rising terrain. He added that it did not appear that any attempt was made to recover from the descent. He was uncertain about what altitude the airplane was at when it was at the top of the hammerhead maneuver. He said he saw the airplane som
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of airplane control while conducting aerobatic flight maneuvers with insufficient altitude to recover.
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Browse: Texas
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
