Pilot Debrief

TEXAS AIR VENTURES INC COMP AIR 8 near Mount Pleasant, SC — 2010-07-19

Final reportERA10LA365
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Date
2010-07-19
Location
Mount Pleasant, SC, USA
Airport
LRO
Aircraft
TEXAS AIR VENTURES INC COMP AIR 8
Registration
N882X
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to retrim the airplane and maintain aircraft control during an aborted landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the accident airplane make and model.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the accident airplane make and model.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting the first leg of a positioning flight in an experimental, amateur built, tail-wheel turboprop airplane. During landing, the airplane touched down to the right of the runway centerline and departed the right side of the runway. The pilot then added engine power to attempt an aborted landing. The airplane lifted off the runway, pitched up at a steep angle, stalled, and impacted the ground. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions; however, a postcrash fire consumed the majority of the wreckage. The airplane's pitch trim actuator was observed in the landing position, which was the full nose-up position and would have resulted in a steep nose-up attitude during climb-out, if not corrected by the pilot. The pilot had accumulated about 1,930 hours of total flight experience; however, he only had 5 total hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have opted for a go-around instead of attempting to land.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents14

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