Stanley Ernie Sigurd KOLB MARK accident near Collegedale, TN
On April 20, 2018, a Stanley Ernie Sigurd KOLB MARK (airplane) was involved in an accident near Collegedale, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 20, 2018
- Place
- Collegedale, TN
- Aircraft
- Stanley Ernie Sigurd KOLB MARK · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.044°N, 85.020°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180423X40437
Official records · ERA18LA134
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On April 20, 2018, at 1830 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Kolb Mark III, N9123R, was destroyed when it collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from Collegedale Municipal Airport (FGU), Collegedale, Tennessee. The private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed near the accident site, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.The airplane's owner reported that the pilot was supposed to be performing high-speed taxi testing of the airplane and that he did not know the pilot intended to take off. He stated that the pilot completed two high-speed taxis and "crow-hops" in the airplane (that is, he would "taxi, lift off, climb the airplane to about 10 ft above ground level [agl], and then land"). During the third taxi, the owner heard the pilot apply "full power," and the airplane then took off from the runway, turned right "above the trees" adjacent to the runway, and entered the traffic pattern. The airplane then "leveled, banked left, and dove into the ground." The owner added that it did not appear that the pilot attempted to correct the dive. Another witness, who was located on the northeast end of the runway, reported seeing the airplane above the departure end of the runway about 500 ft agl when it "turned left…and dove straight" into the side of a hill. He said that it sounded as though the pilot reduced power before the turn but increased power during the descent and that the engine was "screaming" as the airplane descend
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of airplane control, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper decision to take off in the nonairworthy airplane in which he had no training and his lack of flight experience in the 17 months before the accident.
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Browse: Tennessee
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
