Pilot Debrief

ZENITH CH601 near Oak Hill, FL — 2021-11-10

Final reportERA22FA056
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Date
2021-11-10
Location
Oak Hill, FL, USA
Aircraft
ZENITH CH601
Registration
N22XF
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

A loss of airplane control while maneuvering at low altitude.

NTSB narrative

According to radar data, after takeoff, the pilot flew for about 3 minutes at an altitude of about 200 ft above ground level before making a left turn at a ground speed of 98 knots. Shortly after the turn, the radar data ended. The wreckage was located in heavily wooded, jungle-like terrain, in the immediate vicinity of the last radar return. An on-scene examination revealed the airplane likely impacted trees then the ground in a steep nose-down attitude at a high rate of speed. There was a strong odor of aviation fuel around the impact area. All major components of the airplane were located at the accident site. The engine was buried about 2 ft into the ground and the empennage was folded forward over the cockpit area. The two-blade wooden propeller was fragmented but located in the impact crater with the engine. Examination of the airplane wreckage and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation at the time of impact. As such, it could not be determined why the airplane descended to ground impact. Toxicological testing of postmortem specimens from the pilot were positive for ethanol and n-butanol. Detection of these substances was most likely due to postmortem production (rather than consumption) and likely did not contribute to the accident.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not file a flight plan or communicate with ATC before departure.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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