Rutan DEFIANT accident near Plainville, CT
On July 12, 2018, a Rutan DEFIANT (airplane) was involved in an accident near Plainville, CT. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 12, 2018
- Place
- Plainville, CT
- Aircraft
- Rutan DEFIANT · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.684°N, 72.870°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180712X20155
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 12, 2018, about 1042 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Rutan Defiant airplane, N17DR, was substantially damaged in an accident near Robertson Field Airport (4B8), Plainville, Connecticut. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a receipt recovered from the wreckage, the pilot purchased 20 gallons of 100 low lead aviation gasoline the day before the accident. A GoPro camera was mounted on the left, rear wing, facing aft over the trailing edge. The camera had a view of a portion of the wing and the top of a flight control surface. Scenery behind the airplane indicated that the airplane was parked on the ramp on the west side of runway 2. About 1030, a voice was heard yelling, "clear prop," and an engine could be heard starting. About 2 minutes later, the second engine was started. The pilot began to taxi the airplane to the runway at 1033. After noises consistent with engine runup and magneto checks on both engines, the pilot taxied onto the runway and began the takeoff roll about 1037. The airplane became airborne near the 1,000 ft markers on the runway. As the airplane climbed, its flight path moved immediately to the left of the runway centerline. The pilot then corrected back to the runway centerline, and the airplane subsequently moved to the right of the centerline. About 1 minute after takeoff, the pilot initiated a left turn onto the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 2. The airplane continued onto a left do
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of airplane control during climb for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
More accidents in CT
- Boeing B17, Oct 2, 2019
- Cessna 560, Sep 2, 2021
- Cessna 182Q, Jun 27, 2005
- Mooney M20C, Sep 16, 2017
- Luscombe 8, Apr 18, 2017
Browse: Connecticut
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
