Smith William S SMITH COZY MARK IV accident near Cullman, AL
On September 29, 2023, a Smith William S SMITH COZY MARK IV (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cullman, AL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 29, 2023
- Place
- Cullman, AL
- Aircraft
- Smith William S SMITH COZY MARK IV · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.281°N, 86.752°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230929193161
Official records · ERA23FA382
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 29, 2023, about 1200 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Smith Cozy Mark IV, N95SF, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cullman, Alabama. The airline-transport-rated pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a friend of the pilot, who also witnessed the accident, he had spoken with the pilot earlier on the day of the accident. The pilot told him that he had recently replaced the airplane’s propeller governor and planned to fly over to the witness’s field. The witness stated that the pilot occasionally did a flyby to “say hello” and did not perform any unsafe maneuvers during these visits. The witness said that, while he was working outside, he heard the airplane approaching and observed it arriving from the east. He and other witnesses observed that the airplane turned north, then south, and conducted a low pass. The pilot waved from the cockpit before initiating a climbing left turn. During the airplane’s turn, the witnesses observed an unusual “wiggle” in the rear of the airplane and heard a droning noise from the propeller with fluctuating pitch. The airplane then appeared to stall, and it subsequently impacted a field in a level attitude. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe pilot owned the airplane and interviews with witnesses and friends of the pilot indicated that the accident flight was the first following replacement of the propeller governor with a new unit. Access for the governor replacement required removal
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot/owner’s improper installation of engine mount hardware during recent maintenance, which resulted in the partial separation of the engine and likely degraded controllability of the airpl
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Browse: Alabama
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
