Pilot Debrief

Brandt Sonex near Lodi, WI — 2018-12-15

Final reportCEN19LA045
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Date
2018-12-15
Location
Lodi, WI, USA
Airport
9WN5
Aircraft
Brandt Sonex
Registration
N393SX
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain proper alignment with the runway during final approach, which resulted in impact with a tree.

NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was conducting a personal, local flight when the airplane's left wingtip impacted a tree while on final approach to the runway. The pilot stated that, during final approach, he was fixated on maintaining the proper landing airspeed and that he inadvertently allowed the airplane to drift north of the final approach course into the tree. The airplane then spun around the tree and descended nose down to ground impact. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have corrected drift before final approach to avoid collision.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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