Rans S-7 accident near Spirit Lake, ID
On October 6, 2020, a Rans S-7 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Spirit Lake, ID. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 6, 2020
- Place
- Spirit Lake, ID
- Aircraft
- Rans S-7 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 47.980°N, 116.786°W
- NTSB ID
- 20201009102120
Official records · WPR21LA011
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 06, 2020, at 1533 Pacific daylight time, a Rans S-7 Courier amphibious airplane, N55893, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Spirit Lake, Idaho. The pilot sustained fatal injuries and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were departing from the 3,000-ft-long grass runway. During the initial takeoff, the airplane stayed in ground effect. The passenger thought the pilot was going to land and taxi back, but then the pilot pulled aft on the control stick. The airplane climbed above the trees at the end of the runway (about 40 ft tall) and at about 50 ft above ground level (agl), the airplane’s left wing stalled. The airplane impacted the ground nearly inverted. A review of video of the takeoff revealed that the airplane became airborne about 1,100 ft down the runway. (see figure 1.) As the departure continued, the airplane’s wings rocked as it slowly climbed above the tree line. (see figure 2.) The airplane turned left (to the north) and then descended below the tree line. The airplane came to rest about 900 ft north of the runway centerline. (see figure 3.) Figure 1: Runway Diagram Figure 2: Excerpts of Video Capturing Takeoff Figure 3: Accident Site in Reference to the Runway In an effort to determine the estimated ground track, ground speed, altitude, orientation angles and engine speed of the airplane, the NTSB completed a performance study using the video of the accident takeoff as wel
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
More accidents in ID
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Browse: Idaho · Rans aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
