Pilot Debrief

Whitehead Titan near Slaughter, LA — 2009-04-20

Final reportCEN09LA255
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Date
2009-04-20
Location
Slaughter, LA, USA
Airport
LS77
Aircraft
Whitehead Titan
Registration
N226BW
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot's incorrect use of pitch control, resulting in induced pitch oscillations and loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's total lack of experience in aircraft make/model, and his lack of recency of experience.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident were the pilot's total lack of experience in aircraft make/model, and his lack of recency of experience.

NTSB narrative

The pilot had just purchased the experimental light sport airplane and was ferrying it to his home airport. Witnesses said that after the airplane took off, it started what appeared to be a pilot-induced oscillation. The pilot returned to the airport and was attempting to land when it collided with terrain. The oscillations continued all the way to the ground. The former owner told FAA inspectors that the pilot was over-correcting, or chasing the oscillations. He also said the airplane was quite sensitive around the lateral (pitch) axis. The pilot was a student pilot, and had never flown this airplane or any other light sport aircraft (LSA). The last time he had flown was almost a year before the accident. The airplane's last conditional inspection was more than two years old. The airplane's previous owner told FAA inspectors that the airplane was sold on an "as is, where is" basis, and the new owner was fully aware of these stipulations.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted takeoff due to oscillations during initial climb.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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