Flight Design CTLS accident near Beecher, IL
On June 8, 2020, a Flight Design CTLS (airplane) was involved in an accident near Beecher, IL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 8, 2020
- Place
- Beecher, IL
- Aircraft
- Flight Design CTLS · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.382°N, 87.665°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200608X34030
Official records · CEN20LA219
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 8, 2020, at 0946 central daylight time, a Flight Design GMBH CTLS airplane, N257V was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Beecher, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. There were no witnesses to the accident; automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data showed the airplane accelerated to about 60 knots (kts) groundspeed and climbed to about 75 ft above ground level (agl). The groundspeed then decreased to about 50 kts while the altitude continued to increase until reaching about 175 ft agl. At that time, the airplane was about 300 ft short of the departure end of the runway and began a descending left turn. During the turn, the groundspeed remained about 50 kts. The accident site was in a harvested corn field about 0.4 mile northeast of the departure end of the runway and about 300 ft and 10° from the last recorded data point (see figure 1). Figure 1: Accident Flight Track The field was a flat and recently planted corn field. The corn plants were about 3 to 4 inches tall, and the ground was firm, dry, and hard packed. Three linear marks at the accident site were consistent with the airplane’s tricycle landing gear. The center depression among the three marks was deeper and longer, indicating that the airplane impacted in a nose-low attitude (see figure 2). The airplane’s nose landing gear and right main landing gear separated Figure 1: Accident flight track. from the airplane, and the airplane nosed over on its back. The forward
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue takeoff after a partial loss of engine power, and the pilot’s subsequent failure to control airplane pitch during a forced landing. Contributing to the accident was the partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined.
More accidents in IL
- Beech 1900C, Nov 19, 1996
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Browse: Illinois
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
