Rans S-11 PURSUIT N4299Y

Summary

On 29 September 1997 at about 00:21 local time, a Rans S-11 PURSUIT registered N4299Y was involved in an accident near Hays, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 September 1997 at 00:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Hays, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

38.8703, -99.3105

Aircraft

Rans S-11 PURSUIT

Registration

N4299Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA302

1 person was seriously injured.

failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and collision with the terrain. The pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of airplane was a related factor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who worked as an aviation mechanic for the aircraft manufacturer, installed vortex generators on the wings and fuselage of a Rans S-11. He then flew the S-11, while a chase plane followed. The S-11 pilot slowed the airplane to let the chase plane catch up. The pilot of the chase plane reported that the S-11's altitude was about 1,500 feet AGL, but the airspeed was slow. He observed the airplane doing slight Dutch rolls and '...just mushing along.' The S-11's nose pitched down and started a 1/4 spin to the left. The aircraft started to pull up from the nose down spin attitude, and then made a shallow arc before impacting the ground. The pilot of the S-11 was not a test pilot. He had a total of 3 hours in the S-11. The S-11 pilot reported the flight was a personal flight. The company did not have a policy for test flying airplanes. The engine and flight controls exhibited continuity.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.