Pilgrim STEEN SKYBOLT N21SP

Summary

On 24 July 1998 at about 20:15 local time, a Pilgrim STEEN SKYBOLT registered N21SP was involved in an accident near Curtis, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 July 1998 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Curtis, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.4703, -123.0805

Aircraft

Pilgrim STEEN SKYBOLT

Registration

N21SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Curtis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98LA147

1 person had minor injuries.

Loss of control for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who owned the airplane and was an experienced aerobatic pilot, stated that he had taken off, accelerated along the runway, then pitched up to about 30 degrees and had climbed out to about 500 feet above ground level. He then pitched over to level to accelerate and initiated a turn to the right, with the intent of climbing out to an aerobatic practice box. He stated that when he pitched over, he felt negative 'G' loading, and the airplane appeared to perform a portion of an outside snap roll, with the right wing dropping and nose going down violently. The airplane then pointed down very steeply about 90 degrees off heading to the right. He stated that an attempt was made to pull out, but the airplane was in a high speed stalled condition, so he pushed the throttle full open and pushed the nose straight down to relieve the stalled condition and again attempted a recovery. This time, the airplane was not stalled and he was able to initiate a pull out. During the recovery attempt, the airplane impacted a road, slightly tail low, and the propeller struck the ground, leaving several prop strikes in the asphalt. The airplane bounced off the road at a 45 degree angle, then impacted a power pole. The pilot noted at the G meter was pegged at +13 G and -5 G. No preexisting mechanical anomalies that could have resulted in loss of control were found by FAA inspectors who inspected the wreckage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.