McIntosh STEEN SKYBOLT N2261N

Summary

On 26 July 2001 at about 23:45 local time, a McIntosh STEEN SKYBOLT registered N2261N was involved in an accident near Lebanon, Indiana, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 July 2001 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Lebanon, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Lehrman (PVT)

Coordinates

40.0506, -86.4705

Aircraft

McIntosh STEEN SKYBOLT

Registration

N2261N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lebanon → Lebanon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI01LA261

Nobody was injured.

The pilot misjudged his altitude during the landing. A factor was the soybean crop which the airplane contacted.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane nosed over after colliding with a soybean crop on the left side of the runway while landing. The pilot reported that he was flying the airplane from the rear seat which limited his forward visibility of the runway so he used the following landing technique. "Make an early turn from base to final and follow a flight path that lies at an angle of 10 to 20 degrees to the runway heading until the aircraft passes over the runway edge at minimal altitude, align the aircraft with the runway heading using rudder only and promptly flare." The pilot reported that he "...misjudged his altitude and/or rate of descent and the aircraft failed to clear the soybeans growing along the left edge of the runway." He reported the left main gear contacted the soybeans and the airplane turned to an approximate 360 degree heading. The pilot applied full power in an attempt to gain altitude but "...the drag on the left wing in contact with the tops of the soybean plants prevented the building of airspeed." The pilot then reduced the throttle and the airplane settled into the soybeans and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that he "...attributes the cause of this accident to his error in either selecting the wrong technique for final approach, or failing to maintain proper glide path to clear the crop growing at the runway edge. It is possible that the low angle of the sun and the resultant long shadow cast by the soybeans on to the runway contributed to the pilot's misjudgment of the height of the crop."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.