Belair RAVEN accident near Sault Ste Marie, MI
On May 5, 2018, a Belair RAVEN (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sault Ste Marie, MI. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 5, 2018
- Place
- Sault Ste Marie, MI
- Aircraft
- Belair RAVEN · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 46.477°N, 84.363°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180507X03532
Official records · CEN18FA160
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 5, 2018, at 1002 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Belair Raven airplane, Canadian registration C-FNKZ, impacted terrain during the initial climb after takeoff from Sault Ste. Marie Municipal Airport (ANJ), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was owned by the pilot who was operating it as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which departed without a flight plan. According to witnesses, the airplane taxied to runway 32 and departed in a nose-high attitude. A flight instructor compared the climb to an aggressive short-field takeoff or a banner pilot's climb after picking up a banner. Witnesses noticed that, after reaching about 100 ft above ground level, the airplane turned right and transitioned to a steep nose-down spin until ground impact. The flight instructor stated that the engine noise sounded normal throughout the takeoff until ground impact. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 67, held a Canadian private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. On February 8, 2018, the pilot was issued a Canadian Category 3 medical certificate with a requirement for glasses to be worn and a restriction of day visual only flight due to color vision deficiencies. The pilot had accumulated 505 total hours of flight experience, with 61 hours in the accident airplane. Flight reviews were not recorded in the pilot's l
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during takeoff in gusty crosswind conditions, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall.
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Browse: Michigan
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
