Pilot Debrief

PHILLIPS WILLIAM L CHALLENGER near Plant City, FL — 2012-06-09

Final reportERA12FA387
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Date
2012-06-09
Location
Plant City, FL, USA
Airport
9FD2
Aircraft
PHILLIPS WILLIAM L CHALLENGER
Registration
N2571T
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The non-certificated pilot’s loss of control during approach and landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of both total and recent flight experience.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of both total and recent flight experience.

NTSB narrative

According to the airport manager, the purpose of the flight was for the pilot/owner to get “one last flight” in the airplane before he sold it. The pilot had experienced health issues and undergone surgery in the years prior to the accident, and had not flown the airplane in about 1 year. The manager watched the entire flight and described the takeoff as “normal.” The first landing approach was “fast and long,” and the pilot performed a go-around and entered the traffic pattern for a second approach. The manager and other witnesses stated that the airplane descended on the base leg of the traffic pattern to about 500 feet, and that the airplane turned and aligned with the runway. During the descent on final approach, the airplane pitched up, leveled off, descended, and pitched up multiple times with corresponding changes in engine power. The airplane “wandered” to the west and was briefly flying parallel to the runway as it headed toward the witnesses on the grass apron and the hangars on the west side of the field. The airplane then pitched up, the nose dropped, and the airplane impacted the ground in a nose-down attitude of about 25-30 degrees. During the descent and at ground contact, the engine was running “at cruise power,” according to the airport manager. The engine continued to run after the accident, and first responders had to pull one of the carburetors from its mount in order to stop the engine. The 79 year-old pilot/owner had never obtained a pilot certificate. Over the 60 years that he documented his flight time, the pilot reported 122 total flight hours. The accident airplane was purchased almost 20 years before the accident but was not registered until 5 years before the accident. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated 19 total airframe hours.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen not to fly due to health issues and lack of recent experience.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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