Titan TORNADO 1 accident near Louisa, VA
On November 4, 2018, a Titan TORNADO 1 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Louisa, VA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- November 4, 2018
- Place
- Louisa, VA
- Aircraft
- Titan TORNADO 1 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 38.024°N, 77.961°W
- NTSB ID
- 20181104X72439
Official records · ERA19FA036
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 4, 2018, about 1415 eastern standard time, an experimental amateur-built Titan Tornado 1 airplane, N38FD, was substantially damaged when it impacted a field during initial climb from Louisa County Airport (LKU), Louisa, Virginia. The sport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. A witness, who worked at the fixed-based operator at the airport, stated that she was inside the fixed-based operator and heard the accident airplane take off sometime between 1400 and 1430. She reported that the takeoff sounded louder than usual and that, as the airplane flew away from the airport area, she heard an expletive over the common traffic advisory frequency and then no further communications from the pilot. The witness also reported that she went outside to see if "something occurred" but didn't see anything. The airport manager at LKU stated that he landed his airplane about 1415, which was about the time that the accident airplane departed. About 1500, the accident airplane was located in a field about 1-mile northeast of the airport. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 70, held a sport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. He was not required to have a current medical certificate as a sport pilot. A review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had 636 hours of total flight experience, of which abou
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and the airplane's exceedance of its critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin at a low altitude.
More accidents in VA
- Boeing 757-200, Sep 11, 2001
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Browse: Virginia
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
